Life and Death Of The Daughter Of Samcro
by BethJ159
Summary: Emery Trager is the dark red haired, grey eyed daughter of Tig and best friend to both Jax and Opie, follow her as she makes her way through her life as a daughter of Samcro, can she hold on to her innocence or is holding on for the weak? will friendships change when put to the test? is she falling for someone she calls friend? Is family really forever?
1. Chapter 1

**_Chapter 1 –Grey wonder_**

She was woken by a loud banging at the front door, scared she clung harder onto the cold frame that lay lying on the floor beside her. Peeking up from the frozen figures chest she gazed at the face of her mother, her grey eyes staring lifelessly at the ceiling 'I'm scared mommy' the little girl whimpered to her mother's corpse. Putting a small delicate hand on her cheek, she'd grown used to the cold, her mother had been this way for the past couple of weeks or so, Emery felt in her gut that something wasn't right but didn't quite know what, so instead she chose to ignore it and try to convince herself her mother was just sleeping, refusing to look at the dark red stain that marked her mother's top, she remembered the day her mother fell into what seemed to be becoming an eternal sleep well, it was a day she would never forget.

It had been a warm sunny day Emery was running round the garden her mum chasing her as she ran under the slide and through the other side. They'd been to the zoo and seen the monkeys, Emery loved the monkeys she loved the way the babies clung to their mother in a much similar way that she herself would cling to her own. She had a teddy which went with her everywhere she went, like a security blanket he was a teddy monkey which she named Tiberius after the name of the first monkey she'd ever met and had fallen in love with squawking when her mother had told her they had to leave. A day that had seemed so normal and casual had soon turned into what Emery would soon begin to define as a total shit storm. They had, had a barbeque and Emery was helping her mother out the best she could with the clean mainly just picking up rubbish and happily putting it into the bin bag, that night after her mum had tucked her into bed with Tiberius tucked snugly under her arm and chin she'd drifted off to a peaceful sleep being awoken hours later by her mother shaking her the look in her eyes scared Emery, she'd never seen her mother look so terrified ever. Emery began to sob knowing that something wasn't right her mum stroked her long deep red hair shushing her, she'd ushered her into a closet in the lounge and had told her to close her eyes and to not come out no matter what she heard. At that moment there was a crash as the back door burst open. Although she was told not to, Emery couldn't help but watch through the crack between the doors as two men walked in with masks covering their faces they were asking Lorna about some man whose name she'd never heard before, Lorna said something Emery couldn't quite make out and then a man grabbed at her mum she was frozen she wanted to help her mum but something in the back of mind was telling her that she shouldn't, that she should stay where she was and not make a sound. She herd the crack as her mums fist collided with the biggest of the men's jaw, flowed swiftly by a knee to the groin, he slumped to his knees on the floor with a pained expression on his face 'stupid bitch' he croaked out, that was when the smaller one pulled out something which glinted in the light it made a slight noise and her mother's eyes bulged wide as she fell to the floor Emery covered her mouth with one hand as the other clutched Tiberius fiercely.

'fucking dead bitch now' the smaller of the two men stated come on let's get out of here before someone sees us' at that, he hoisted up his friend and they walked out of the house Emery swore that she would never forget that voice not ever, she couldn't even if she had wanted to that man's voice haunted her dreams. Moving to her mother's form quicker than she'd ever moved in her life she hovered above her tears in her eyes 'Mommy are you okay, mommy?' her mum said one last thing to her that she didn't quite understand and didn't think she ever would, 'I love you baby, be happy and trust samcro' she wiped a tear from Emery's face before her hand fell limp to her chest Emery had stayed beside her mother since then only getting up to us the toilet or get a glass of water she ate bread off the kitchen side not being able to reach anything else she had gone hungry a few days after her mother's passing.

The loud banging at the door brought her out of her memory she shrunk down closer as much as she could into her mother's side tears pouring from her face, soon after the banging stopped there was a crash as Emery assumed the front door had broken just as the back had done on what Emery recalled to have been the worst day of her life, she clutched at a now dirty Tiberius as tears streamed her face and her nose began to run she let out a slight whimper but made no other sound as she held back her cry hoping to not be noticed by whoever had entered the house, 'Fuck me can you smell that' a crude voice spoke, eventually growing closer as her mother's name was called out, the two men entered the living room, Emery peeked out from her mother's arm to find two men staring at her one with piercing blue eyes with messy black curls framing his head with a stubble to his cheeks, the second had dark eyes with scars which resembled some sort of smile at either side of his face with a slight beard, Emery couldn't help but feel like she should be scared of these men but something inside her told her that things were about to change and that she was safe.

'oh chirst' Chibs Scottish accent rang out, Tig couldn't help but stare shocked at the small figure that clung to her mother the girl had brilliant red hair that looked dull and dirty as was the girl. She was in a pink nighty with monkey's faces on it although her face was dirty grey eyes shone out at Tig and he noticed that they shined because the girl was crying, he glanced at Chibs his face mirroring the horror he presumed his also showed. Then he noticed Lorna, The woman he had once loved, probably always loved but, she couldn't hack the life and she wanted out only Tig didn't know that she was expecting he'd only recently found out when he eventually went home instead of staying at the clubhouse to find a letter from Lorna telling him that he had fathered a little girl who she had described as amazing and beautiful, she'd apologised about keeping her from him saying that at first she didn't want her to be a part of the Samcro life but that now she feared that something would happen to her, and that with Tig and the club she knew her little girl would be safe, she'd left him an address asking him to come pay them a visit where she could introduce him to who she referred to as 'their little angel' whom she'd called Emery and then he could gradually become part of their lives. He brought Chibs along for support fearing he wasn't ready for this he didn't know the first thing about taking care of a kid, especially a girl this was like his nightmare come true but looking from the body of the woman he loved with tears in his eyes to the fragile girl she saw huddled beside her obviously terrified he couldn't help but feel the need to protect her, feeling as though he had already failed, here this little girl sat by her mother's dead fucking body for what must have been weeks by looking at the girl and the body. The girl was so skinny he couldn't help but fall to his knees as tears began to pour from his eyes, he felt a hand squeeze his shoulder knowing it was Chibs trying to comfort him.

Without really noticing she had moved Tig realised the girl had crawled towards him and stood now before him, she looked like she was conflicted she gazed down at a teddy which seemed to be a monkey albeit a rather manky looking monkey Tig thought as she looked him in the eye and placed her small hand to his cheek and wiped one of his tears away.

'Why are you crying mister' her small voiced sounded.. comforting? Was this small little girl seriously trying to comfort the big biker man she clearly was slightly afraid of?

Tig tried to talk but choked slightly on his words, he gave a small smile trying again 'you must be Emery?' Tig asked in a small voice hoping not to scare the little girl although she seemed to relax slightly at the mention of her name

'Yes, what's your name mister?' she said then looked cautiously to Chibs, 'Who's he?' she whispered

Tig couldn't help but laugh a little at the curiousness in her eyes god she looked just like her mother same red hair which couldn't quite be classed as ginger more just red and those grey eyes, eyes that looked like they stared straight into his soul. 'I'm Tig, this here's my good friend Chibs, do you know what happened here Emery?'

'Did you know my mummy?' she asked hesitantly Tig realising this little girl wasn't about to tell a stranger what happed without knowing who he was

'Yeah I knew your mother sweetheart, we both did,' he gave a worried glance towards Chibs 'your mummy might not have mentioned me but I'm your' Tig hesitated 'I'm your daddy angel'. Emery looked at him she didn't seem convinced then Chibs spoke up 'I'm gonna call the lads get them over here brother, I'll get Clay to bring a car and have Gemma set up a room at the clubhouse for little Emery here' Chibs turned and walked away he noticed Emery gazing at Chibs's cut her eyes widening 'Samcro, be happy trust Samcro' Her tiny voiced stated sounding distant 'what was that sweetheart?' Tig asked now curious to how the kid knew about Samcro. She turned her gaze back to him 'mummy' the girl started 'after the men left mummy said I love you, be happy and trust Samcro' a tear slide down the girl face 'she's not waking up is she?' the girl asked and not being able to say the words that would break this little girl he just shook his head Emery lowered her hand from his face and stepped the rest of the way forward crashing into Tig monkey and all throwing her arms round his neck and sobbing uncontrollably.

Outside, Chibs listened as the phones dialling tone rang out twice before Clay answered. 'were gonna need you lads to come down here for a clean-up bring a car we've found the little lass but Lorna, Lorna's dead Clay she was shot found the little lass sat beside her looks like she's been there for at least three weeks poor kid' he herd clays gravelly voice from the other side 'We'll be on our way in ten how's Tig taking it? Think he's gonna step up to the plate and be a pa?' Chibs took a deep breath 'he looks terrified brother but I don't think he's gonna run away from the lass but he's gonna need help' Clays voiced replied ' good he'll get help she's family and Samcro take care of their own' soon after the conversation had ended, he returned to the house following the voices which lead to Emery's room Chibs smiled at the sight before him there Tig stood, the Crazy one of the group who would easily kill a man for looking at him the wrong way on the wrong day stood with his back to Chibs holding the kids hand with a pink hello kitty rucksack slung over his shoulder reaching to grab the suitcase, and in the girls other hand hung that damn dirty monkey. He quickly walked into the room he soon realised was Lorna's grabbing her quilt and covering her body as Tig and Emery walked out. The sound of the Harleys pulling up signalled the lads had arrived.


	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2- Put the teddy down_**

Emery stood outside gripping tightly to the man she now believed was her father, he put his hand on her shoulder as she clutched him closer as a group of men got off loud bikes and two got out of a big black car, they gathered around Tig some of them staring at her making her feel uncomfortable as she shrunk back further hoping she could somehow become invisible to these men. Looking around she could see they were all wearing the same leather cut Mr Tiggy and the man with the scars were wearing, she was pulled from her thought as the man with scars and a funny accent crouched down in front of her, 'hello there lass, your gonna stay out here with me whilst your daddy and these lads take a look inside and get a few things sorted is that okay?' he asked cautiously, he knew that Emery had told Tig about what had happened to Lorna and knew he needed to inform the rest of the club. Emery nodded her head, truth be told she like this man even trusted him, besides her mum said she should trust Samcro so she would. Tig made to moved but Emery didn't let go of his hand 'Will you be long Mr Tiggy?' she asked as Chibs let out a small chuckle along with Happy, Clay and Otto. Tig looked at her with one eyebrow raised about to ask her not to call him that especially in front of the club, but looking at her his heart stopped in his chest her big innocent grey eyes shone out at him with what he could only guess was a little bit of love and a lot of apprehension he could tell she was trying to hide the fact she was still slightly scared. He looked around and saw Chibs raise an eyebrow at Happy following his gaze he noticed that he was smiling, it was faint but fucking hell, Happy the Tacoma Killer was actually grinning and it was terrifying. Tig shook his head wondering how this one little girl had managed to put a smile on Killers face, Happy didn't smile for anyone, as if noticing the whole of the club members were staring at him happy dropped the smile clearing his throat and putting his 'mean face' back on. Tig looked at her 'no Angel I won't be too long don't worry Chibs will be right here with you till I get back' she smiled seemingly pleased with his answer, following Chibs as he went to put her bags in the back of the car. Tig looked to Clay who just smirked saying 'that kids gonna break hearts, and I'm talking about the big burley hearts at the club' Tig just stared, nodding before saying 'good, because I am so not ready to fight off teenage boys yet' around him Bobby, Otto, Happy, and Piney laughed.

Emery sat in the back of the car next to Chibs, although knowing it was rude to stare she couldn't help but stare at the man's facial scars, 'So how old are you then little lass?' he asked smiling she replied 'I'm 6 My birthdays February 17th' Chibs couldn't help but smile at the girls forthcoming least this wasn't gonna be an awkward wait, plus he thought that at least if he kept her talking she wouldn't be sat wondering when her father would be back. She froze as the man she had now mentally named as Chibby reached for Tiberius thankfully he noticed and pulled his hand back 'So whose this little fella' he asked pointing to him instead,

'his names Tiberius I got him when I was 3, I know I'm a little old for a teddy but he's all I've got' she shrugged at him before muttering quietly 'especially now mummy's gone' hoping he hadn't heard when she realised she'd said it out loud. She turned when she heard the men coming out of the house and smiled as Tig sat next to her, 'Otto will ride your bike back' Chibs smiled at him as Emery shuffled up close resting her head against Tig's arm smiling when he moved to wrap his arm around her as he nodded at Chibs 'thanks brother' One of the men she'd been introduced to as Piney got into the front of the car and began driving as she closed her eyes breathing in the smell of leather which was surprisingly comforting.

She awoke the next morning feeling better than she had in weeks she opened her sleepy eyes to find blue ones looking back at her from the chair beside her bed, 'Morning sweetheart' Tig smiled at her 'Morning Mr Tiggy' she grinned back she looked to the side of her bed to find a picture of her mother and her in a frame, it took her a second to realise that it was the one that once held prize place on her mother's bedside table, she snuggled into Tiberius realising the he smelt different she looked at him and he looked completely different, he was clean, the same however couldn't be said for her, she looked to Tig as he spoke 'I had Gemma wash him whilst you were sleeping I knew you wouldn't like being away from him so I got him back to you before you woke up' She smiled up at him

'thank you mister Tiggy' she smiled shyly at him as his eyes misted over, clearing his throat he smiled replying 'Now I think it's time we got you all cleaned up, then you can meet Gemma and the rest of the family' Emery looked hesitantly at him 'you'll like Gemma' he continued 'she's a real nice lady and a real good cook, she's making breakfast right now' As if replying for her, her belly grumbled causing Emery to giggle, instantly Tig fell in love with the sound. After her bath and putting on some clean clothes she was introduced to Gemma whom she instantly loved 'You have pretty hair and nails' Emery stated causing Gemma to smile

'Well if daddy will let you I can paint your nails for you baby girl' Emery beamed up at her

'Do you think Mr Tiggy will let me paint his nails?' She asked starting to get a bit giddy

'I dunno baby girl but if not I can get one of the lads to pin him down whilst you do it' she said winking at the little girl secretly loving the fact that there was little girl around. Emery burst out laughing causing some of the sons to look at her Gemma didn't miss the adored look Tig gave the little girl at the sound coming from her. It was a noise Gemma knew she was gonna love hearing around this place. She glanced over as there was a commotion coming from the hallway as her son Jax and Piney's son Opie, who Gemma saw as her own came bustling into the kitchen standing in awe as they noticed the small girl clutching onto her teddy. Gemma called the boys over

'Now boys this here's Emery, she's Tig's daughter so you two better look out for her okay, she's family' she smiled as both Jax and Opie walked closer towards Emery both of whom were eight and with Opie being a lot taller than her she looked hesitant, Opie was the first to approach her

'Hey I'm Harry but people call me Opie' he smiled sticking out his hand for her to shake she took it and smiled back as he continued ' That's my old man Piney over there' he pointed to the older more plump man sitting next to the fatter man with curly hair she'd been introduced to as Bobby. She nodded and took her hand back going back to clutching Tiberius, then Jax stepped forward surprising both her and everyone else in the room when he pulled the small girl into a hug talking to her as he held her tight 'I'm Jax, Clay's my step dad and Gemma's my ma, welcome to the family Red' although she was crushed in his grip with her monkey digging into her chest she couldn't help but feel safe smiling at the newly found nickname, Gemma looked on proudly at her son with a teary eye as he watched Emery go over to her father sitting on his lap and begin colouring in a book on the table. She knew she didn't have to sit him down and explain he and Opie had to look out for the small girl, she could see the protectiveness in both their eyes before they looked at each other making a pact between brothers.

Emery ran full speed after Jax, she was fast and she enjoyed running but Jax was just a little bit faster he jumped on the sofa holding Tiberius high above his head as Emery tried jumping to reach him

'Jax please!' she moaned as he chuckled

'Come on Red, that the best you got?' he smirked at her, without much thought she took a step back and ran at him, before he had time to realise what was happening she had rugby tackled him to floor and made grabbing movements for Tiberius, Jax laughing at her failed attempts to get her monkey back managed to flip her over so she was below him, holding the teddy high still out of her reach, 'Nice try short stuff but too slow' he grinned down at a now 12 year old Emery she scrunched her nose up at him in frustration as she tried to grab for her teddy, all the while Jax laughing until the teddy was claimed from his hand, he looked up to see Opie standing above him holding the teddy

'Really Jax? you know she's gonna wanna kill you and your ma said no more pranks allowed in the house' but Opie still couldn't help but grin at Emery as she still lay struggling below a 14 year old Jax with Opie being the same age

'Exactly which means there's nothing she can do about it' Jax replied smug, Opie put Tiberius on the sofa, for Emery the teddy was out of bounds Jax knew that,

'Come on let her up' Opie grinned as Emery was getting redder and redder in the face her grey eyes blaring 'Okay but first things first' Jax smirked at Opie and Opie knew instantly where Jax was going with this, Opie kneeled on the floor by Emery's head grinning

'no, NO, no please Ope, please no' she pleaded already knowing it was too late she was pinned with nowhere to run, She began giggling uncontrollably as Jax and Opie began relentlessly tickling her, her begging them to stop between panting and trying to get her breath back, eyes watering 'Please stop Jax, please!' she squealed 'Ope no, I'm gonna wee, stop!' they started laughing as she continued to giggle

'Hey what's going on?' Tig asked walking into the lounge looking behind the sofa at a flustered Emery red from her giggling he looked at Jax and Opie who smirked at Tig, Tig knew instantly what that meant

'No, don't, please daddy don't do I-' she was cut off as her dad began tickling her as Opie and Jax held her down all laughing as Emery gargled a giggle, Tig loved hearing his daughter laugh not many things made Tig feel warm inside but Emery had melted his heart the minute he had seen her. Gone was the dingy looking skinny kid and in her place was a beautiful girl with brilliant dark red shiny hair and shining grey eyes and each time he looked at her he couldn't help but be reminded of her mother. Through her gargled laugh Emery happily said 'you guys are in trouble now' and Tig looked up to see Chibs coming towards them he glanced back towards Jax and Opie, 'sorry lads time to bail' but he wasn't quick enough Chibs playfully dragged him up by his cut and threw him on the Sofa 'now put em up,' he shouted as he mockingly began rolling his fists at Tig, 'thinking you can do that to the little lass' Jax, Opie and Emery's heads popped up behind the sofa watching the wrestling match take place Chibs announcing he was fighting for her honour causing the lads to chuckle and Emery to giggle, her hair a mess strewn around her head from her tickle attack by the boys, without a second thought she jumped onto Opie's back and began wrestling him as Jax watched on

'Come on Ope you're getting beaten by a girl!' he cried out to Opie 'how you gonna be a biker when you can't even beat a girl?' he chuckled, Just then Gemma walked in calling out at the top of her voice 'alright guys that's enough, just stop, you know I don't like you wrestling in the house' Some of the others had walked in behind her and Emery caught the sight of Happy smirking as he looked at her with Opie in a headlock, instantly Jax put two and two together 'Hey Hap no fair you've been teaching her to fight!' Happy just shrugged at Jax looking to Emery as she gave him a brilliant smile, dimples and all. Clay and the others couldn't help but laugh looking at Tig with Chibs in a headlock, as Emery knelt with Opie in one, 'Well she's definitely got some of her dad in her' Clay announced as they all laughed, Opie taking Emery's distraction as an opening and moved out of the headlock grabbing Emery and throwing her over his shoulder and dumping her on the sofa with Tiberius, her giggling all the while as Jax watched her smiling. Although she carried the sadness of her mums loss around with her this is what kept her moving forward, her loving dad and her family she knew that samcro was more than just an mc but she didn't care she was raised in this life, it was normal to her.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Sorry just a quick note to say thank you to everyone who reviewed, I'm glad your enjoying the story, also I have a few chapters already written whih I'm just re-reading and wondered if you would prefer for me to put them up all fairly together to to keep updating them the way I am which is every two days or so or if you'd like them weekly? Thank you :)_**

 ** _Chapter 3-Birthday antics_**

She could hear him that voice, that voice she would never forget, she was pulled from her dream by a knock at her bedroom door at the clubhouse she'd spent most of her time here, since it was the schools holidays it was easier and she preferred it here, probably because here she felt safest, here she was constantly around family. The door knocked again 'Yeah?' she croaked out reaching out to her bedside table to take a drink from her glass of water as her door creaked open to reveal her dads smiling face

'Morning angel' he grinned 'you decent enough?' curiously she nodded her head, Tig had learnt early on once Emery had started to 'develop' to knock and check before walking into her room, he could clearly say he had never been so red in all his life as Emery screamed and tripped over some clothes as she dashed to shut the door in his face, she didn't give him eye contact for at least two days. As the door swung open to reveal Gemma, Clay, Jax and Opie, she couldn't help but grin at Jax and Opie as they both sported their matching Prospect cut's without thinking she jumped out of bed and pounced on both of them, both catching her in time before she fell on her ass

'Congrats guys I'm so happy for you!' she squealed at them, both looking down to grin at her. Her dad cleared his throat behind her and she realised that she was scarcely dressed in just a thin tank top and short pyjama shorts her dad raised his eyebrows as she waved him off

'It's just pyjamas dad' she moaned 'besides I'm proud of them' she beamed at her best friends as she climbed back into her bed and pulling the covers round her waist to appease her father he rolled his eyes at her then Gemma stepped forward holding what had to be the biggest cake she'd ever seen as all the crowd shouted a big Happy birthday at her she smiled, not believing she'd actually forgot her own birthday, the crowd moved towards her singing happy birthday, Gemma handed Clay the cake as she began taking pictures of Emery as she blew out her cake, Clay placed the cake on her bedside table kissing her head 'Happy 16th birthday baby girl' he smiled at her 'just gotta take care of some things' he shrugged as an apology

'It's okay uncle Clay see you in a bit' he waved a goodbye as the rest congregated around Emery's bed her father sitting next to her, Jax sitting by her crossed legs and Ope by Tig as Gemma stood camera at the ready, Opie was the first to give his present, Emery opened it smiling at the throwing knife Ope had got her that had the reaper on the hilt she grinned up at him 'I love it Ope, wow' she grinned at the knife 'just wow' she threw her arms around his neck in thanks not noticing Gemma taking a picture with the camera, Jax was up next, she opened the box to find a helmet inside it was matte black, with a custom design of the reaper but with a more female approach, she beamed up at him, since she didn't have her own bike yet she begged her dad or Jax or Ope to let her go with them on their bike nine times out of ten it ended up being Jax's, she was glad he'd remembered that she didn't like the shiny helmets 'I feel like there's a trend going on here' she smiled at him, as she reached over and hugged him, he kissed her on the cheek, 'no problem Red glad you like it' his husky voice rang out as he wore his signature smile, she looked closely at him was Jax blushing? Again Gemma's snaps of the camera had gone unnoticed,

'Hey guys give me a sec with my birthday princess will ya?' Tig asked though it wasn't really a request, Jax and Ope left the room but not before wishing Em a happy birthday and telling her breakfast would be up soon,

'Everything okay pa?' she asked a little curious now

'yeah sweetheart' he cleared his throat 'I just wanted to give you this for your birthday but I didn't wanna upset you in front of the guys'

'okay, um, what is it dad? You're worrying me' as she said that he held out a box for her, timidly she opened it and her hand flew to her chest when she saw it was her mums locket, it was a delicate white gold chain, it had the most beautiful pendant she had seen and she instantly remembered she used to play with it when her mum would hold her, she would tell her that she wore it to keep her father close by, being young she thought nothing of it, hand shaking she went to open up the heart locket turning it over she saw the son's Anarchist A etched on the back, she look at her father before managing to finally open the locket, on one side there was a picture of her as a baby her mother holding her with a beaming smile looking like she was the happiest person in the world, and the other side was a picture of Tig smiling brightly, leaning against his Harley with a new cut on, if she had to guess she'd say he'd just been patched in.

'you took this off her that night we met, when you went back into the house?' she said in a small voice he just nodded not knowing if she would be angry that he'd taken it from her mother's lifeless body. She looked up at him tears in her eyes

'thank you it's beautiful' she whispered touching it again as her tears began to fall 'will you help me put it on?' she asked her voice breaking. He just smiled and nodded his head,

'You look just like her you know' She nodded 'Does it upset you?' She asked, he just simply lifted her from the bed and crushed her to him a single tear falling from his eye 'no angel it doesn't upset me, it's nice, like a part of her's still here' she bit her lip to try stop the tears from continuing and nodded, then she handed him the locket as she turned and lifted her hair for him to clasp it shut, once done he moved her hands letting her hair flow down. 'okay' he sniffed holding her shoulders 'I'm gonna go snag a coffee whilst you get ready for breakfast but be quick, clubs got a run' he took a shaky breath 'also Gem's throwing a big club party, for your birthday and Jax and Ope becoming prospects' he wiped the tears from her face as she nodded, he kissed her on the head. Then as if on cue the pair started laughing at each other they didn't have many emotional moments but this is how they always ended.

Once her dad had left, Emery showered quickly tying her hair up not wanting to wash it till later for the party, she applied a little mascara and powder to her face before changing into skinny jeans a vest top and combat boots sliding the knife Opie had given her into the left boot before letting her hair fall in its natural curls to just below the bust. She was more a knife girl than a gun girl although she'd never used it her dad insisted she had something to protect herself with, whilst training with Happy and the others she'd become attached to knives and had a pretty good throw on her, she looked at her reflection deciding to instead put her hair back into a pony that curled together at the end, she walked over to where her bed was to cuddle Tiberius as he lay in his prize place leaning against her pillows though she'd outgrown carrying the monkey around with her constantly she would always hold him and breathe him in whenever she felt sad or lonely, or if she missed her mum, no matter how old Emery grew she would never forget about Tiberius, standing up she straightened herself out fiddling with the necklace one last time, then she took a deep breath and left her room in search of breakfast.

After breakfast all the men including Opie and Jax left for club business, so Gemma and Emery cleaned the aftermath that was breakfast, which had resulted in Tig, Chibs and Bobby having a food fight as Opie not so slyly threw bits of scrambled egg at her resulting in her scrunching her nose in frustration as she was powerless since everyone had eyes on her, wishing her happy birthday.

Once she'd been passed around the group receiving a sloppy kiss from Luann the porn queen and a promise she'd give her a job in a heartbeat whilst complementing her on her ass and chest, to a squeeze from big Otto, finding a gap in the crazy whilst the girls started cooking, since Emery had been exempt as Gemma wanted some element of surprise, so wanting some peace to think she climbed the steps to the roof sitting down on the roof reaching into her back pocket she pulled out a joint reaching into the other side for her zippo lighter

'shit' she muttered realising she left it on her drawer and contemplating whether she could be assed to go down and get it.

'really? so you weren't gonna share eh Red?' Emery looked up smiling at the familiar drawl

'depends, you got a light?' she asked as he smirked throwing his lighter at her, 'always', lighting the joint and taking a hit she passed it to Jax

'so how'd it go or can't you say since I'm no old lady?' she grinned at him, he shrugged his shoulders 'was ight you know, the usual' he shrugged 'hey when don't me and Ope not ever fill you in?' he winked, and it was true she couldn't fault him on that, only she knew he only told her about the basics like what the Mayans were doing etc even though she knew that other things happened, Jax and Opie kept her curiosity sedated with little things, just as she was thinking this Ope's head popped through the entrance to the roof 'ahh just what the doctor ordered' he grinned eyeing up the joint, Emery passed it to him as he joined them.

'Tara and Donna coming tonight' Em asked, she loved Donna and got on with her really well she was like her best friend, Tara, not so much although nothing was ever going on with Jax and Emery, Tara didn't like their friendship and was hard on Jax when he wanted to spend time with her.

'Yeah' Jax sighed 'though really I've just about had enough, I can't keeping dealing with her shit, she needs to sort herself out' he said between puffs of the joint, as if on cue his phone started buzzing, the roll of his eyes told her and Ope it was definitely her that was ringing huffing a sigh Jax walked off answering handing the splif back to Emery.

'nice locket' Ope said looking at the chain around her neck she looked down at it with sad eyes, biting her bottom lip to keep tears at bay and held it in her hand 'yeah' she let out a breath 'dad gave it me this morning it was my mums, it's got a picture of her and me when I was young and dad in there' she gave a weak smile. Opie pulled her forward onto his lap taking the joint out of her hand and putting it on the floor, she rested her head against his chest, Emery took a deep breath breathing in the leather which was the most comforting smell she's ever known and ever will since to her that smell always meant she was safe.

'how you doing little red bird?' she could feel the rumble through his chest as he spoke the beginnings of a beard tickling her head, Opie was the only on she'd let call her Red bird even though she thought it childish once she hit her pre-teens Opie had refused to let it go, 'I'm good' she smiled up at him 'I just miss her, its hard you know' she shrugged 'it's harder on days like today or when something special happens I can't help but wish she was here, I just wanna make her proud but I don't really know how to do that' Opie took a deep breath 'your pain aint gonna go away even you know that, but it'll get easier' he said as he pushed some stray hairs out of her face, she smiled at him, 'thanks Ope' he kissed her on the head 'No problem' he just smiled at her as Jax's voice came into focus it seemed he and Tara were having a bit of an argument, no doubt about tonight's party. He gave a huge sigh as her and Opie looked at Jax 'well' Opie started 'It's gonna be an interesting night' Emery finished for him they grinned at each other as Em stood up,

'I better start getting ready for the party' she smiled at Opie as she climbed down the ladders going to her room. After showering she turned her music up putting on some black lace French knickers and a matching strapless bra she began dancing around her room as she held different outfits up against her slowly getting frustrated, not hearing Gemma come in until she twirled around in a dance and full on shit herself

'Jesus Christ, I nearly had a heart attack' she screamed as she clutched her chest Gemma all the while grinning and looking her up and down as she stood in her pants and bra

'well damn baby girl, can see why Luann's nagging you' she winked as Emery blushed but she wasn't embarrassed her and Gemma were close, Gemma had been the one she had to go to when she'd started her period, when Tig was informed about this however he well and truly freaked the fuck out and glared at any boy that even walked past her much to many of the club members amusement. One of Emery's best memories was when after Gemma had informed Tig of the fact his daughter was now a woman, and that she was in a bit of pain with her period and had gone home, Tig had returned home with chocolate, sweets, crisps and other snacks and had let himself sag on the sofa next to Emery where she sat wrapped in a blanket holding a hot water bottle, that day he'd filled her bottle back up with hot water and sat with her whilst they stuffed their faces with junk and watched chick flicks, though he made her swear that she wouldn't tell any other members of the club, eventually they'd found out and ragged on him about it, but those months where she had really bad period pain her dad would still come home and comfort her in this way. Looking at Gemma she couldn't help but feel like she was some sort of mother to her, she'd helped her with her make-up when she'd confided that she wanted to start wearing it and even helped her when it came to shopping for clothes and especially underwear because for Tig that was definitely a no go as she got older.

'I can't decide on anything to wear' she muttered whilst she kicked a top at her feet 'I wear the same shit all the time' she whined until she noticed Gemma's smile 'what?' Em asked Gemma just handed her a wrapped box, winked and left, just like that, opening the box Emery saw a dress a beautiful black dress with lace around the middle which would show off part of her toned stomach, when she put in on it hugged her in all the right places and came to just below the knee with a split up the side up high on the thigh and was strapless, she loved it but couldn't help think she'd feel out of place amongst the crow eaters that would be there but loved the fact Gemma knew that wasn't her style, she dressed more appropriately and elegant then what the entire of the crow eaters did. Emery added to her makeup making her eyes smoking and adding a dark lipstick the eye make-up made her eyes pop the grey dazzling through, the lipstick drawing attention to her full lips, she was adding the finishing touches to her hair when there was a knock at the door, she opened it to find Chibs stood holding a present,

'wow lass you look absolutely beautiful' he smiled at her, Chibs had become like her second father, he was the one she'd talk to if she'd done something wrong or if she was in trouble because her father was way too overprotective, Chibs rarely gave her crap for anything she did and would drop anything instantly to help her if she needed him.

'you don't think it's a bit much for the party? I mean it's a sons party and the girls don't normally dress like this and I don't really wanna look out of place I mean-'she blabbered on until chibs stopped her 'You look brilliant princess, and you ain't no crow eater, you don't dress like a crow eater either and tonight's a special occasion, not every day you turn 16 lass, you should enjoy it' he smiled at her glad he'd obviously calmed her

'here I didn't know what to get so Gemma helped me out she said you'd need this' he smiled at her as she took the present opening the box to find a stunning pair of black heels with studs on the side, she was in love 'oh my god Chibby I can't' her hand held to her mouth, 'sure you can lass me an the club bought em for you' he took them out the box and set them at her feet 'come on lass try em on the party's started and Gemma's gonna be hunting you down soon' he chuckled, bracing herself on Chibs's shoulders she slipped into the shoes, she didn't ever have a problem with heels, she always wore them day to day as boots or small heeled court shoes, she would wear he big heels to the parties which around here was all the time though during the day if she was helping out round TM she would wear flats like her boots or converse they were just more practical, 'thanks Chibby their beautiful' she beamed up at him, he kissed her on the forehead before dragging her into the club and up to the bar,

Emery grinned at the family that surrounded her although she wasn't yet legally allowed she knew being a son and being 16 meant that drinking was more like a rite of passage, she probably could have started younger if she wanted but didn't wanna ruin her taste for it, and besides the club was the safest place as any to get drunk, kind of. Let the fun begin she thought eager for her first taste.


	4. Chapter 4

_**The next chapters will have more action in them, and you'll start to see how Emery handles club business, these few chapters have just been to show the kind of person Emery is and the dynamic's of the club, I didn't want to start the story as being all doom and gloom constantly. Thank you :) -Also I realised I didn't do a disclousure, all SOA thngs you recognise belong to Sutter, anything you don't is my own.**_

 ** _Chapter 4-Tig's Nightmare Come True_**

Jax was sat around a table with Tig, Opie, Clay, and Happy. There were laughing and drinking hearing Tig and Clay talk about some of their run ins with the Mayans, their biggest rival mc as they played poker, he glanced to the other side of the room to see Tara and Donna deep in conversation, Donna honestly looked as though she was bored out of her skull just nodding along to Tara's rant occasionally adding her input. Jax turned his attention back to the game as Clay shouted to Tig it was his hand, looking at Tig, Jax thought it looked as though his world had come crashing down around his turn, he was pale and was that sweat? Yep he was pretty sure the clubs sergeant of arms was sweating, nothing scared Tig, in fact he was the one people feared most beside Happy, he was just out right crazy 'my life's over' he muttered Jax barely being able to hear him

'What's up Tiggy?' Clay asked confused he hadn't ever seen Tig look this scared

'I'm gonna have to lock her away, ban her from parties, she'll hate me but its what's best for her now' Tig carried on eyes never leaving one spot sounding like he'd just had a nervous breakdown. Collectively the guys turned to follow Tig's gaze and found his terrified expression was placed upon his daughter just entering the bar area with Chibs, his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders

'damn' were the collective words from all of the guys 'you're up shit creek now brother' Clay whispered to Tig, his only answer was him nodding slowly as he continued to watch her, he'd already decided there were at least four people who he wanted to beat the shit out of, with all the charters gathering here with their new prospects for the celebration he saw the younger ones give Emery a once over beside him he heard Happy growl and was thankful there was one other person who shared his feelings. Around him, Jax could hear the lads taking the piss out of Tig about his daughter and the fact that boys would be fawning over her all night but Jax wasn't really paying attention, he was looking at Emery as she stood at the bar with Chibs now joined by Gemma, looking at her she seemed different, so different then all the other times he'd looked at her and it wasn't because she was wearing more make-up he'd seen her wearing it before. Her deep Red hair was pinned up into what he could only call a curly messy bun with bits if curls falling down to her bust, her eyes were bright and alight as she laughed at something Chibs was saying, those hypnotic grey eyes that could captivate anyone but always shone through with honesty. She showed her perfect teeth, with just one little chip on her incisor which Jax remembered had happened when she'd fallen off the monkey bars at the park, as she gave Gemma a huge smile her dimples showing on either side of her full plump lips, if he had to say which of Red's features was his favourite, he'd have to say her eyes and her dimples. For what was probably the first time Jax snuck a look at Emery's body she had an amazing cleavage if he had to guess he'd probably say a she was a C his eyes then ran down her flat stomach that dress really did show all her curves it looked like her workouts with Happy and all the dance classes she had taken had really paid off he gulped, as if she knew he was checking her out she turned to face Donna who was making her way over to her giving Jax a perfect view of her ass.

'Hey, Jax?, brother you there? It's your turn' his head snapped to Opie who looked at him with an eyebrow raised 'hmm' Jax replied buying himself some time' erm yeah sorry was just looking at Tara' he bluffed the other's rolled their eyes easily believing the lie, Tig would kill him if he knew that he'd been ogling his little princess, not even Opie would approve, hell, Jax didn't approve, shaking his head he just put it down to what she was wearing and the fact that Tara had put him on a shagging ban. He looked at Ope 'come on brother you just know we gotta be there for her first drink' he winked at Ope as both stood. Tig smiled to himself the boys would look after her but even still he shared a look across the club with Chibs and looked to Happy with the same expression, each of them knew what it meant.

Emery grinned to herself as she hugged Gemma, 'thank you for the dress momma bear, I love it' she squeezed her closer

'no problem baby, you look beautiful, you always look beautiful but, wow honey' She beamed at Emery 'now take it easy tonight with it being your first time drinking, don't let those boys lead you astray' she warned as she eyed Jax and Opie making their way over.

As Gemma walked away Emery continued talking to Donna and jumped when large arms hugged her from behind around her neck the beginnings of a beard tickled her cheek as Opie kissed it 'Happy birthday Red bird' he cheered as Donna smiled at the display, she didn't understand what Tara's problem was with Emery sure she was close to Jax but no more than she was with Ope, Donna had known from the first time she was introduced to Opie by Em that they were close, they were a little trio the lads protected her made her feel safe, especially due to the circumstances surrounding her younger years and because of that they shared a bond, It didn't faze Donna if she walked into a room to find Opie lounged on the sofa with Em's head resting on his shoulder or to walk into the club when it was packed and find her sat on his lap, to her it was normal. Once he finished wishing Emery a happy birthday Opie walked over to Donna embracing her and kissing her tenderly, Emery smiled to herself hoping someday she could have a relationship that was similar to that of her two best friends. She was pulled from her thoughts as a familiar arm was slung over her shoulders, 'Happy birthday Red' Jax drawled before shouting to the prospect behind the bar to get a round of sambuca shots and beers. The rest of the California club members joined in as they cheered before taking their shots, the men instantly moving on to the beer whilst Emery stuck her tongue out in disgust scrunching up her face, she glanced up to see Jax smiling at her and laughing so she stuck her tongue out at him as her father kissed her cheek handing her a beer, 'That's ma girl' he cheered as she began guzzling it down.

Hours later and many shots and beers later the members filling the club were getting leery, Emery and Donna had managed to get the prospect behind the bar to play some cheesy music so they could dance he was reluctant until Em played the birthday card, as the club filled with music the biker boys didn't even bat an eyelid some had half naked crow eater's splayed across them and Emery was sure one of them was sucking of one of the members from the Tacoma charter in the dark corner, she smiled to herself not believing the fact that this sort of scene seemed completely normal to her, she and Donna danced together both very drunk at this point and not really caring if they looked stupid or not.

Throughout the night a couple of the younger men from the charters had tried flirting with Emery she flirted back innocently but always excused herself when she thought things were escalating too much, at one point one prospect had got a bit grabby and she was about to punch him in the face herself before happy had beaten her to it, her father soon following suit shouting to the man he would never make it to patching in if he looked at her like she was and she quotes 'a piece of gash' ever again. By now her head was spinning, but she didn't care as soon as she heard Bon jovi's Living on a prayer start to play, this was her and Donna's song actually it was her, Donna, Opie and Jax's song but looking over at Jax now there was no way he'd be joining in, he'd spent most of the night just drinking in the corner trying to keep an annoyed and bored Tara happy, as the song began to play Donna and Emery jumped around excitedly until Em decided to climb up the bar stool and onto the bar with Opie standing behind her thankfully covering her dignity, laughing as he helped her to stand, once up she grabbed Donna's hand as she climbed to join her on the bar, as they laughed and danced around, all around her each of the cali members were looking at her with bright faces as she sang along and laughed with Donna, Jax gazed at her thinking about how beautiful and carefree she looked prancing around and couldn't help but think alcohol looked good on her, Tig half asleep and on his way to passing out looked up abruptly to the squeal of his little girl and couldn't help but look out at her with a goofy smile plastered across his face and she pranced along the bar, yep she was just like her mother.

Forgetting about the people surrounding her it was just her Donna and Bon jovi in her mind and as she danced along to the music she grabbed the pins holding her hair in pulling them out shaking her hair loose before dropping to her knees on the bar doing the air guitar to the guitar solo in the song, All the guys around her chuckled as Jax and Opie whooped at her and Donna, she was that lost in the dance she hadn't even notice Jax join them, looking around briefly she realised Tara must have left. Once the song had stopped, she shuffled round and put a foot forward onto the chair to get down from the bar her shoes long ago forgotten and left by her dad's seat, Opie had picked up Donna swinging her around before placing her on the ground and planting a kiss on her. Just as Emery went to put weight on her foot she slipped as she let out a slight squeal as she braced herself for the fall, but found strong arms holding her up instead, she opened up one eye to be met by Jax's signature smirk 'don't worry Red I got ya' she giggled up at him apologising as he placed her on her feet, unknowingly Gemma had been going round throughout the night taking photos.

A few more drinks later Emery was starting to feel a little lightheaded and headed outside for some fresh air, out there she saw Jax, Opie and Donna sat on one of the picnic benches laughing, slowly making her way towards them she sat in between Jax and Donna who was snuggled into Ope's side, she let out a sigh shaking a little at the cold and rested her head against Jax's shoulder closing her eyes 'You enjoyed your party Red?' Jax asked in a low voice she just nodded content with not speaking, her voice hurt from all the singing she'd done. Jax gave a little chuckle as she felt his arm slip away from her, making her frown pouting slightly until she felt his arm snake around her shoulders letting her rest her head against his chest, not knowing he was watching her all the while as her pout faded and was replaced by a small smile, she opened her eyes looking up at him when she felt his chest rumble with a laugh, that was however a big mistake as she bolted forwards to one of the trash cans and began violently throwing up she heard Donna say something to Jax but couldn't make it out then she heard Donna stand behind her and shh her whilst she held back her ruby hair for her 'sorry' she muttered out between violent retches and a few tears, Donna just continued to rub her back as she hunched over the bin. When the retching had finally stopped she felt as though all the strength she had, had left her and she fell unceremoniously dropping heavy to the floor her knees crunching at the weight ' Jesus Christ you okay?' She heard Jax shout as he ran towards her, but she couldn't feel any pain she was just exhausted and she wanted sleep, and sleep she would she thought as she wiped her mouth and lay her head against the bin closing her eyes.

'oh no you don't' she heard Jax whisper to her 'come on Red I'll take you to bed' she just nodded her head as he slipped one hand under her legs and the other around her waist lifting her bridle style, she leaned her head against his hard chest falling asleep with the smell of cigarettes and leather surrounding her. He couldn't help but smile as he looked down at Red's face her full lips slack and ajar as she breathed deeply whilst she slept, walking into the clubhouse most people had passed out, however Happy and Chibs ran over to him concern on their faces when they saw Emery lying slack in his arms, Happy's face was focused on the blood that was coming from her knee's 'relax bro she's fine, got a bit sick and fell to the floor an hurt her knees, but don't worry I'll put her to bed deal with her knees in the morning' Happy just nodded and stroked some stray strands that were stuck to her cheeks from her tears away from her face whilst Chibs spoke to Jax hoping the other two men hadn't noticed, they had but they didn't make a point of showing it Happy wasn't one to show emotion, but they all knew that he loved Emery especially after Tig had asked him to be her godfather, 'alright Jackie boy, you just make sure she's okay' he nodded towards Donna and Opie 'I'm guessing that pair'll be sharing a room' he winked at Jax and Jax just chuckled, Chibs kissed Emery's head whispering 'night lass' before turning around to get the attention of his crow eater back, Jax shook his head, and headed towards Emery's room.

Jax was stood outside Em's bedroom tryna get a good enough grip on her to be able to reach up and grab her key from the top of her door frame, she didn't normally lock her door only on nights there was a party because she didn't trust the crow eater's, thinking about it even Jax didn't trust the crow eater's, he let out a slight huff then heard Opie's voice behind him 'here bro let me help you out' he said letting go of Donna's hand, reaching for the key and unlocking the door swinging it open, 'thanks bro, night Donna' Jax called as Donna and Opie walked to the door diagonally opposite Em's which was Opie's room. Once he walked inside he kicked the door shut behind him and placed Red on the single bed bringing the covers over her and kissing her on the head, he turned to walk away when a small delicate hand grabbed his wrist, he turned looking into the glazed eyes of his best friend, 'Jackson?' she said in a small voice, 'yeah Emery' he replied smiling at the fact that she'd used his full name that didn't happen unless she was angry or as he had learned over the years it meant that she needed him, he using her full name in similar circumstances.

'will you stay with me, please?' she gazed at him as he began to nod before he'd even realised that he was, 'could you do me on last favour and grab me a glass of water whilst I change?' he smirked 'yeah course Red, I'm just gonna grab some sweats ight' he told her as she nodded getting up shakily from the bed, he took one last look and went to change, walking into the kitchen to get Em a glass of water, he bumped into Tig who had a croweater hanging off his face, 'oh hey, Tig, I'm gonna stop with Em tonight she asked me to stay with her, think tonight's took its toll on her' he gave Tig a weak smile, walking away from the crow eater he lead Jax to the isolated corner of the kitchen,

'yeah I think she misses her mum, guess that necklace didn't help' he rubbed his neck, Jax shook his head

'she loves the necklace bro, but yeah man, she's gonna have a bad headache in the morning too' Jax smirked at him

'yeah heard she was sick, okay Jax you stay with her if that what she wants, but no funny business, and I mean none!' Jax held his hands up in surrender as Tig glared at him in warning,

'hey man, not once have I ever broken your trust' he laughed, and it was true Tig couldn't fault him Jax had spent many a night in his angels room, it first started when she got bad nightmares, and either he or Opie would go in depending if Opie was at the clubhouse and if he heard her, hell sometimes Tig walked into her bedroom to find both Jax and Opie sleeping peacefully one at each side of Emery as they all mushed together in the little single bed, he smiled to himself in memory 'alright Jax, thanks for taking care of her' Jax just nodded as he replied 'always', Tig couldn't help the small smile that crept onto his face 'night kid' he murmured as he patted him on the shoulder and then he was off to his own bedroom at the clubhouse with his piece of gash for the night.

Emery heard the door creak open and shut, and opened her eyes to a shirtless Jax in only sweatpants setting a glass of water down by her bed, He had to say that Emery's room calmed him it smelt of her and like a citrus peach smell, the silvery grey and lime green room was immaculate with all her make-up and hair supplies neatly stacked along her drawer, necklaces and jewellery tucked into a small jewellery box, her room back at her home with Tig was similar only it was grey and black, and one of her walls was covered in a collage of all the people she loved in her life and memories, he couldn't help but smile at the little clean freak.

'Thanks blondie' she smiled at him, 'no problem Red', he walked around the bed and got in next to her he laughed when he rolled over to see her cuddling up to Tiberius, 'still with the teddy ehh' she gave him a small smile, 'he makes me feel safe' she replied 'I know it's silly especially now I'm 16 but I can't help it' she shrugged and Jax lifted her chin 'hey, I didn't say it was stupid, now come on get some sleep your gonna be in hell when you wake up' he grinned at her she smiled at him and crawled closer so that she was tucked under his arm her head on his chest with Tiberius tucked safely under her chin, gradually drifting asleep as Jax stroked her hair, she loosened her grip on her teddy and put a leg over Jax's, breathing warm breaths on his chest, that was one of the first nights he'd had in while where he fell asleep peacefully with a smile on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

**_So sorry for the delay!- only Emery and April are mine._**

 ** _Chapter 5- Not So Lucky_**

She woke with a massive pounding in her head, lying still afraid to move in case the pain would be worse. That's when she realised that she was trapped as something heavy hung across her stomach holding her down to the bed, she turned her head slightly to find Jax's face inches from her own, trying her best to ignore the pounding in her head, she gently crawled from under his hold lying his arm back flat across the bed as she stood. She went to her drawers and pulled out a navy blue samcro hoodie, it was about three sizes too big for her, falling past her pyjama shorts to just above her knee and had originally belonged to Opie, pulling on her white slipper boots and pulling her hair into a messy bun at the top of her head she walked out into the bar area in search of coffee. Walking into the room she had to try so hard not to laugh, Bobby lay on the pool table trousers round his ankles, thankfully with his boxers up and a naked croweater lay sleeping by him, when she got closer she realised he had a bright neon pink g-string practically stuck to his face, she stifled a laugh, trying not to wake bobby and not make her head pound any more than it already did, looking around at the rest of the club members they lay in a similar state and she couldn't help but wish she'd brought her phone out of her room with her, she was just thankful her father always took his shenanigans to his club bedroom whenever Emery was around. The door opening claimed her attention as the matriarch of Samcro strutted into the club, she smiled at Emery, 'how you feeling baby girl?, you look like shit'

'that bad eh' Emery replied looking down at herself 'I'm so embarrassed I'm pretty sure I was sick last night' she smudged up her face in disgust,

Gemma let out a small chuckle 'oh honey it happens to the best of us, besides least you had a good night' she walked over to give her a hug 'you seen Jax? He didn't come back to the house last night so I guessed he stayed here'

'yeah he's still asleep he slept in my room last night, think he must have put me to bed' She shrugged as she walked over to start making coffee, Gemma just raised an eyebrow 'oh he did, did he' she continued 'and he just happened to fall asleep there too'

'well I didn't want her to choke on her own vomit' both women turned to face a sleepy looking Jax who walked over to his mum kissing her on the cheek good morning 'I was just looking out for her' he looked towards Emery who gave him a thankful smile, he knew she never liked to look vulnerable, she couldn't help but be grateful for him covering for her. Emery handed Gemma and Jax a coffee as they sat at the bar, grabbing one for herself and another she turned to the pair, 'well guess its wake up time' she sighed before making her way over to happy who was curled up on the opposite end of the bar, she'd learnt very quickly that the only way you wake Happy up is if you have coffee as an offering otherwise it could cost you your life, finally reaching him she softly stroked his bald head which was covered by a snake tattoo, 'hey Happy, Hap, it's time to get up' she called to him, his eyes darted open and he sat up abruptly, rubbing his eyes then relaxing seeing it was just Emery, 'Morning' she chimed handing him the coffee, receiving a slight smile and a nod in thanks. 'how you feeling?' he asked but she noticed him staring at her knees where there was dried blood 'I'm fine Hap honestly, just took tumble' she smiled embarrassed.

Once everyone was up and the Clubhouse had been cleaned most men went back to their respective homes, Emery had had a long hot bath soaking her cut knee's changing into some black leggings and a baggy beige knitted jumper which hung off one shoulder and came to just above the knee, she left her face bare and blow dried her hair leaving it to naturally fall into soft curls. Once ready she walked into the living room of the bar, where Opie and Jax were sat on the sofa watching The expendables 2 with popcorn, Opie slouched in the corner whilst Jax slouched in the corner at the opposite end, Emery sat in between them seeing as it was the only space left, and leaned back on Opie putting her legs up on Jax, they stayed this way with Opie twirling some strands of her hair and Jax with one arm draped across her stomach, occasionally moving to grab some popcorn, which she held in her lap and his other arm draped across her knees, until the film finished and her dad's head came through the doorway.

'Hey, angel don't forget your back to school tomorrow, you need to pack up your stuff, so we can head back home and you can get whatever washing you need to do done before going back' Emery groaned hiding her head in Opie's shoulder, he just patted her on her head mockingly. Emery and her dad stayed at their house in the week but since it had been the school holidays, Jax, Opie and herself, had practically moved into the clubhouse since the boys were helping out at the Teller Morrow garage and Emery had been helping out Gemma in the office taking booking's and handing keys back. But now school was starting back up she had to get back into a routine of doing school work and early mornings something of which she wasn't entirely thrilled about embracing. This year would be Jax, Opie, Donna and Tara's last year at school whereas she had two more years to go.

Soon after she'd packed up her make-up and some bits of clothes she wanted to take back home, she was sitting on the back of her dads bike with her new helmet Jax had given her and her rucksack, on her way home. Getting back to the house she quickly set about doing some of both her own and her dad's washing before preparing her stuff for school and making dinner.

Emery had just about finished getting ready when she heard the sound of a Harley pulling up outside the house so she slipped on her brown heeled ankle boots to match her white and yellow dress which came just above the knee, pulling her jacket on as she grabbed her bag making her way outside to where Jax was waiting leaning against his bike, 'Morning Red' he called cheerfully standing to straddling his bike, 'morning' she replied as she placed her helmet on being careful not to ruin her hair which she'd put into a low side pony to restrain her hair to one side of her shoulders.

Slipping onto the bike behind Jax wrapping her arms around his waist, although the feeling was familiar Jax couldn't help but feel his heart rate speed up at her closeness to him, shaking his head he gunned the bike as both went on their way to school. They pulled up next to Opie's bike, where he and Donna stood making out, both looked up smiling in greeting as Jax backed the bike into the space. Em was saying good morning to Donna and Opie as she heard a high pitch squeal that made her jump and the other's cover their ears, she turned towards the sound to find her best friend April, bounding towards them, her blonde hair flailing in the wind, she braced herself for the assault that she was about to receive when noticing that her friend had no intention of slowing down the closer she got to the group, within seconds she was in the blonde girls arms being lifted up, she giggled as her friend continued to squeeze whilst Emery desperately tried to get a grip on the back of her dress to prevent showing her ass to everyone around. Once placed on the floor she took a step back looking her friend up and down 'damn girl you tan well' she raised her eyebrow 'I was really hoping you'd come back burnt for the amount of time you'd spent over there' her friend lightly smacked her on the arm 'cheeky bitch!, I missed you though like loads!' she began frantically routing through her bag 'oh here, Happy Birthday!' she squealed holding out a small present to her.

She took it saying thanks once she opened it she beamed, 'it's beautiful, thanks Ape' she held out her wrist to her friend who help her attached the new charm to her bracelet Jax and Opie had bought her for her 15th birthday, so far she only had two charms on it the first had been the one Jax and Opie had already put on the bracelet before giving it to her It was the reaper and she loved it, it was by far her favourite charm, her second had been given to her by her father, it was a monkey which looked like it was hanging from the bracelet by one arm, he'd told her that since she no longer carried the teddy around with her, she should still have Tiberius with her without looking childish. After April had finished attaching the charm to her bracelet she brought her delicate wrist up to her face to study it more, It was a four-leaf clover with the number 16 etched onto it. The girls had met when they were 10 Tig had taken her to the park with Jax and Opie and she had found a four leaf clover, however April had spotted it at the same time, the girls had argued over the clover, until Jax came over and scared the little girl into giving Emery the clover, she'd felt really bad and had ran back to the little blonde girl and gave her the clover. They soon became fast friends, she was pulled from her memories, as April asked her 'do you like it?, it's how we met remember?' Emery pulled her into a tight hug 'how could I ever forget Ape I love it!'

Jax watched the interaction between the two girls, The blonde was tall with long tanned legs fairly busty definitely bigger than Emerys's, the girls looked to be the complete opposites to each other, where Emery had dark red hair, blazing grey eyes and was quite short, April stood a good head taller with pale blonde hair and dark eyes. He couldn't help but compare them, ever since Emery had confided in him that she sometimes wished she was more like April, loud and beautiful. This had been the first time he realised Em obviously didn't she herself quite the way others did, that she didn't notice the looks people gave her, how some girl's looked at her in envy and how boys ogled her. In fact he'd learned quite early on that she didn't really see herself as beautiful at all, though she'd never let on to anyone about her insecurities, Jax and Donna were the only people who knew of Emery's slight envy of her best friend.

After saying goodbye to the rest of the group once they saw Tara approaching, the girls walked towards their first lesson 'so I'm taking it that Jax and Tara are still a thing?' April asked

'yeah, and she's still moody as ever and would quite literally sell her soul in exchange for my death' Emery replied smiling whilst April let out a low whistle

'I don't think I've ever met anyone who literally never smiles, maybe it's just something she reserves for Jax' she shrugged 'so, spill the goss girl what have I missed, apart from Jax and Opie becoming prospects of course' they had finally reached their lesson taking their seats on the second row 'I mean are there any fit new prospects hanging round the club? I need details girl!' Emery just shook her head there's one he's nice, hot too, about a year older than us, 'there's a couple more joining Friday they'll no doubt be a party knowing samcro, fancy coming over to the clubhouse we can check them out?'

'hell yeah! I'm definitely there I'll get my brother to drop me off about 5? It'll be nice to see everyone' Emery nodded 'sure sounds good we'll stop at the clubhouse'.

English had dragged on as did the rest of the day, the two girls were sat eating lunch when a seat was taken beside her and a familiar arm draped across her shoulder, as a hand reached for her sandwich, even though she knew who it was she turned to face Jax who took a bite out of her sandwich before handing it back 'Jax!, Jesus don't you have your own lunch?' she just winked at her, 'but your sandwiches taste so much nicer' he whined, 'Don't let Gemma hear you say that' Opie said whilst him and Donna joined the group, Emery noticed his knuckles were red and swollen,

'Seriously Ope! You're fighting already, we've only just got back to school' Opie just shrugged 'Some lad thought he could put his hand on my cut so I showed him what happens if people go grabbing at stuff that isn't there's' Emery couldn't help but smile as she shook her head, in all honesty she wouldn't have expected anything different from either him or Jax. Once she'd finished eating she and April headed to the bathroom to touch up their make-up, halfway through re-applying her lipstick Rita Alverez walked into the bathroom followed by a couple of her goon friends, Rita and her brother Rodrigo were the children of the Mayan's President Marcus. 'well well look who it is girls' she cooed in her accent, 'it's the princess of charming in all her glory' Emery rolled her eyes as she finished her lipstick,

'look I'm really not in the mood Rita, go take your crap elsewhere' she bit back, not violent by nature, she did however know how to take care of herself to some extent, Happy and the other sons had taught her to fight, April on the other hand backed away so she was just ever so slightly behind Emery.

'You're sick of my crap? We've had enough of samcro messing with our shit thinking they can control us, I've been asked to deliver a message' she replied eyes darkening dangerously as she stared at Emery. Realising that this was inevitably gonna result in a fight she dropped her bag to the floor,

'wow I didn't realise you'd become your daddy's little bitch' she snapped back, April backed up further as Rita stepped forward

'you think your untouchable, let's see how well you do when Teller and Winston aren't here to protect you princess' she screamed as she lunged forwards knocking Emery to the ground she felt a heavy thud against her face as Rita's fist collided with her cheekbone, pushing the pain from the punches connecting with her face and the dull ache of her shoulders from hitting the ground to the back of her mind, she thought back to what she'd been taught she brought her hands up to cover her face from the assault, seeing an opening she brought her knee up hard into Rita's stomach, grabbing hold of her arms she flipped them over so she was straddling the girl then began relentlessly punching her in the face, until Rita grabbed at her hair pulling it with full force, letting out a grunt Emery managed to pull herself away from the girl who quickly stood to her feet, shaking out her hair Emery threw daggers to the rival clubs daughter, 'what's a matter too delicate to fight princess?' Rita taunted with a bloody mouth. Seeing red Emery threw a swift kick to the girls knee making her buckle before grabbing her hair tight at the back of her head and smacking her head against the bathroom sink, cringing a little when she heard the crack of flesh hitting porcelain, she let the girl fall to the floor in a bloody heap as she ran her fingers through her hair undoing it, she hadn't noticed Rita's friends had bailed the minute Emery had gotten the upper hand, 'not so much, and by the way, message delivered' she spat to the injured girl on the floor before grabbing her bag and throwing the strap over her shoulder, 'come on Ape were gonna be late for Science' turning around she came face to face with a startled looking Jax and Opie.

A huge grin spread across Jax's face while Opie smirked raising an eyebrow 'Seriously Em! We've only just got back to school and your already fighting' He mocked in her voice, she just threw him daggers and the finger, once they'd left the bathroom leaving the bloody girl sat on the floor, Jax put his hands on either side of her face wiping away some blood from her busted lip, 'are you okay? What did you mean message delivered?' he asked as she winced when he ran his finger over the cut on her cheekbone, moving on to look at her bruised knuckles 'Yeah, I'll be fine Jax, but hey let me tell dad when I get home, I don't want him worrying besides I need to talk to the club' she sighed he just nodded, 'sure I'll tell Clay to ask everyone to meet us at the clubhouse after school, I'll meet you by my bike' she nodded, he kissed her gently on the head before leaving waving goodbye to April as he joined a smiling Opie walking to their next lesson. Emery gave out a big sigh, 'well that's not how I pictured the first day back at school going, sorry Ape' April just looked at her chuckling, 'You're kidding right? That was fucking awesome your badass, I've never actually seen you fight before' on entering the class the teacher raised his eyebrow at Emery as she went to take her seat, 'you two haven't seen Rita by any chance have you?' he asked as April and Emery got their books out,

'Nope' both replied simultaneously. The tanned girl walked into the class 15 minutes later, her face down she'd cleaned the blood from her face but the cuts were clear to see as were the bruises starting to form. No-one ever mentioned anything to any of the Samcro kids or the Mayans about their fights or anything else that happened between them as people were too afraid to report anything, the only time action would be taken was if a fight took place publicly and even then those involved would only receive detention it was something the club had agreed on, since they couldn't make it look like they had gotten away from it. One of the teachers had tried to get Marcus to move his kids to a different school since they lived in Oakland but the school there wasn't as easy to manipulate and they wouldn't accept any of the Mayan clubs children.

Emery was the last one to step out of the classroom she'd said goodbye to April and had stayed to talk to the teacher about an essay that was due, stepping through the doorway she was greeted by a badly beaten Rita and her brother Rodrigo towering above her, she moved as the teacher squeezed between the gap between Emery and the doorway, walking swiftly down the hallway throwing her a sympathetic look as he went, She turned to face the Alverez children. 'what do you want Rodrigo?' she sighed at him,

'well, you see chica my sister here's got a pretty busted up face and if I had to guess I'd say you were the cause' he pointed towards her, she felt fine fighting a girl, she didn't however see her outcome being great if it came to a fight between Rodrigo and herself, but she would never show it, he would never know she was intimidated instead she held her head up high, 'seems her message didn't turn out quite as well as she wanted it to' she shrugged at him seeing the flicker of rage behind his eyes, 'now if you'll excuse me I have somewhere to be' she pushed past him until he grabbed her bag at her shoulder, spinning her around as he caught both of her arms behind her, restraining her as Rita stepped towards her, great, just fucking great, not only had she had to fight earlier now she was gonna be held whilst a well and truly pissed off Rita beat the shit out of her, she tensed bracing herself for the attack but couldn't help doubling over as Rita brought home a heavy punch to her stomach, she began frantically thrashing around trying to get out of the older siblings grasp, though it was pointless he was stronger than her. He lowered his head to the back of Emery's, she could feel his breath on the back of her neck making her skin crawl, 'don't fight it chica the more of a fight you put up the worse it'll be' without thinking she brought her head forward before cracking it back into Rodrigo's face causing him to drop her arms as he clutched his face, groaning in pain, quickly picking up her bag she began to run for the nearest exit her heeled boots clicking in her wake , she could hear them both chasing after her, she ran as fast as she could finally bursting through the door which led to the parking lot.

Sat talking with Opie his attention was drawn to a door bursting open and a flustered Emery staggering out of it hair wild and eyes wide with.. fear? Was she scared? Instantly on edge he raised from his bike and began making his way towards her as she spotted him her face changed relief flashing across it and inside he couldn't help but smile at the fact that he could make her go from being terrified to feeling safe just by being with her, she bolted towards him crashing into him just before Rodrigo and Rita appeared from the doors, Opie was instantly by his side as he held Emery, Rodrigo had a busted nose and Rita looked pretty fucked up too now her bruises from earlier had settled in. He felt Emery take a deep breath as she stepped beside him standing in the middle of him and Opie, that's ma girl he thought, he knew she would rather get the shit beaten out of her acting like she didn't give a shit than look weak after all she was Samcro.

'Problem?' Jax asked jaw clenched as his icy blue eyes blazed with anger

'I just need a word with the chica is all, I owe her a head butt' Rodrigo called back

He couldn't help but feel proud, Red had some serious balls 'that's not gonna happen' he called back just as Opie stepped forwards 'if it's a fight your after brown, step on up' Opie smiled menacingly at him, Rodrigo went to step forward but was stopped by Rita's hand on his bicep as she shook her head 'maybe next time then' Opie shouted to him sarcastically as the Spanish siblings walked away.

The minute they'd rode off on Rodrigo's bike, Opie pulled Emery into a hug stroking her hair, 'you okay Red bird? What happened?' she let out a shaky laugh,

'oh you know just your average day at school' she smiled up at him 'I'm okay Ope honest, come on we've gotta get to the club' she pulled away as Jax handed her, her helmet and she settled herself on the back of His bike wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, feeling safe for the first time that afternoon.


	6. Chapter 6

**_Chapter 6- House Arrest._**

Walking into the clubhouse Emery was bombarded by hands and questions, first to reach her had been Happy, who grabbed a hold of her face not to gently and simply looked into her eyes saying 'who do I need to kill, give me a name' she chuckled at him, 'don't worry Hap I'm okay' she patted his arm as she moved forward being grabbed by her father 'what happened? Why didn't you call?' she gave a heavy sigh, before calling loud enough for everyone to hear 'Okay, everyone just back off, I appreciate the concern but really I'm not a flower!' she looked around her family catching Gemma's eyes as she smirked in the corner at Emery's outburst. 'I got into a fight with Rita at school, she came into the bathroom looking for a fight I didn't really have a choice' she looked down

'well?' Piney spoke up 'did you kick her ass, cos it sure as hell looks like she got a few hits in'

'don't worry pa Rita looks a hell of a lot worse, Em smashed her head off the bathroom sink, you should have seen it ' Opie announced proudly as the others turn to Emery pride emanating from all of them.

'She's Samcro alright' Clay announced, 'Jax said you needed to talk to the club?'

'yeah, when Rita came after me she said she was delivering a message, I think the idea was for her to beat the shit out of me, didn't quite work out for her though, so Rodrigo paid me a visit tried, to restrain me whilst she kicked the crap out of me' she looked to Jax who was practically shaking with anger as she continued 'I managed to get away and ran outside then Ope scared him off, I don't know if they were acting on Alverez's orders or just tryna play billy big ball's at school' she shrugged.

'We'll look into it' Clay replied 'for now a prospect will be with you at all times' Emery groaned inwardly

'Really? I can take care of myself Clay' she whined

'I know you can baby girl but it'll keep my mind at rest' her dad piped up running his thumb along the cut on her cheekbone as she hissed at him. 'Jax, you and Ope meet her after every lesson, I don't want her walking around by herself' he ordered as Jax and Opie simply nodded 'sure thing, we won't let no-one touch her' Jax confirmed.

Once home Emery got to making tea for herself and her dad, she turned the music up, dancing and singing along as she cooked spaghetti bolognese, she remembered the times she used to cook with Gemma watching her every move and getting excited every time Gemma would let her do something, she and her dad had eaten at the Morrow's house every night up until Emery was 14 and started cooking herself, her cooking wasn't brilliant to start with, but was bearable now, though she wouldn't ever say she was a good cook. After tea her dad headed over to the clubhouse for church, practically begging her to go with him since he didn't want to leave her on her own. After practically forcing her father out the door promising to keep a gun by her side the whole time, and her knife in tucked into her slipper boots, he was gone she went upstairs to start running a bubble bath and finish her essay. Sitting in the almost scolding bath, she finally felt her muscles relax allowing the pain to spread through her from her previous fight with Rita, she could feel the strain all through her shoulders and her face, she just hoped and prayed she could cover the bruising that was forming on her cheek with make-up in the morning.

After her bath, Emery wrapped her hair up in a fluffy green towel wrapping herself up in another, brushing her teeth quickly and checking her shoulder in the mirror to find a blacky blue bruise forming. She walked into her room, towel drying her hair on the way, Once changed into some pyjama shorts and a dark tank top she sat on her bed and began writing in her journal, she'd always wrote about things that happen in her journal, sometimes she wouldn't write she'd just draw pictures, like the picture's she'd drawn of Opie and Jax sat laughing on the roof of the clubhouse when they were 16, she'd drawn pictures of all the club member's, one of her personal favourites had been Bobby dressed up as Elvis Presley, the only one she could never draw was Happy somehow she just couldn't get his eyes or mouth right, Jax had said it was probably because she saw him different to everyone else since she was the only one to ever really be on the receiving end of his soft side. Hearing her phone go off, she looked to see her dad calling,

'hey angel, sorry but Clay needs me for some club business, so I'll stop at the clubhouse tonight, Jax's gonna head over once he's done here' his voice sounded over the phone

'okay pa, no worries I'll be fine no-one needs to come round I don't need a babysitter' she whined, hearing Jax in the background shouting 'suck it up Red! I'd be giving you a lift in the morning anyway' rolling her eyes she agreed before telling her dad and everyone to be careful and saying goodnight, slipping the DVD into the player Emery got herself comfy on the sofa with a blanket, a glass of coke and a box of mint matchmakers whilst she waited for Jax to come round.

Unlocking and opening the front door, Jax walked in to the dimly lit living room to find Emery lying on her side, knees tucked up in a foetal position fast asleep on the sofa, whilst the credits to Pretty Woman played on the tv, switching the dvd off and turning the tv over onto some horror film he went and grabbed a beer before sitting beside Red on the sofa. Looking at her so peacefully asleep, he couldn't help but feel like besides his mother she was the most important person in his life, was she more important than Tara? He thought but he already knew the answer was yes, but should she be? I mean surely he should care more about the girl he practically claimed was the love of his life than his best friend right?, looking at her now he couldn't help the wave of guilt that swept through him, looking at the cut and the bruises forming on her cheek, he should have been there to protect her, she should never have gotten hurt. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that things were only gonna get worse in terms of violence the more involved in the club he got but he didn't mind, he would stick with his brothers, he was born into this life, to him this was normal so he'd take care of anything or anyone that came at his family because Samcro take care of their own, and in some way's he knew that Red thought that exact same thing.

The sun streaming through the windows woke her, panicking she quickly reached for her phone the time said 6:30 she was awake half an hour before she needed to be, she didn't remember falling asleep especially since she didn't even manage to set an alarm. Once relaxing she realised something heavy was on her she looked down to see the top of Jax's Blonde head, where it rested on her hip, his arm thrown over her legs, he must have fallen asleep watching tv, smiling to herself she started to stroke his hair which came just above his shoulders, 'hey, Jax' she called softly not wanting to startle him, 'Jax, wake up' she called a little louder shaking him a little, this time she was greeted with sleepy blue eyes as he looked up to her, 'oh, sorry, morning Red' he croaked, his voice thick with sleep she couldn't help but smile at him

'You don't have to apologise, just get your heavy head off me' she replied, playfully pushing his head off her

'it's all brain darlin' he smirked at her 'though you wouldn't know about that' he nodded at her as she playfully slapped him, going with the mood he quickly sat up and dragged her below him pinning her to the sofa he began tickling her, she stifled her giggles forcing her mouth shut, he watched as her grey eyes got brighter and brighter as her face got redder and redder, 'Alright red what's with you, trying to stop yourself from breathing?' he looked at her confused, managing to get a hand free since he was distracted she covered her mouth before speaking

'I don't wanna breathe my morning breath on you' she replied, was she blushing? He couldn't help but chuckle, well it started with a chuckle but turn into a full on belly hurting laugh he more embarrassed he could she her getting as she giggled along at his laugh,

'seriously?' he raised an eyebrow at her whilst trying to get his breath back, 'wow you really are a girl' he smirked down at her, pulling her hand away from her mouth, she slapped him again playfully smiling up at him, 'you know I don't care about that Red, your my best friend' he said giving her a genuine smile 'besides I've smelt you after a dance class' he crinkled his nose is mock disgust as she gave him the finger. He let her push him off her as she stood up letting the blanket fall off her, she was wearing a dark tank top and grey pyjama shorts. Turning to face him her red hair falling over her shoulder she pointed to the coffee pot, 'I'm gonna go get ready, could you put some coffee on?' he just nodded at her, 'thanks, ill shout when I'm out the bathroom, you can take a shower if you like' she said as she began walking upstairs towards the bathroom, stretching her arms across her shoulders as she went.

After drying himself off he walked to Emery's room where he could hear her music playing, without even thinking to knock he just walked in, she was sat at her desk in front of her mirror trying to cover the bruise, a cup of coffee set down next to her, she smiled into the mirror at Jax's reflection before starting to apply some black stuff to her eye lashes,

'I put a top on the bed for you, it's one of your old ones' she spoke still concentrating on her make-up, she was wearing a white and blue summer dress, with white ankle socks and black heeled boots, she'd left her hair flowing in its natural soft curls. He couldn't help but feel like it felt completely normal for the two of them to be getting ready together, they'd gotten ready before when they were kids but now it felt so much different, her leaving clothes out for him, him making her coffee it all seemed very domestic. Once both were ready they headed out to school together.

Friday soon came around, and as she got ready for school she couldn't help but have that Friday feeling, it helped that she would be spending girl time with April and Donna that night away from school and also that Samcro was having a party to welcome two new prospects to the charming charter, rumour was that both were also transferring to the school as of Monday. Sitting at her usual table with April, Donna, Tara and Opie she began to talk excitedly with the girls about what they were gonna wear that night, with Tara pretty much ignoring them reading some medical book instead, and Opie quite literally wanted to stab himself in the eye with his spork. As she was talking to the girl's about the party, Jax came wondering over 'hey Red, me and Ope have got some stuff to take care of so were gonna split when lunch is over'

'Okay, no worries I can get the bus back, or even walk' she smiled at him,

'You know you can't be alone, I can ask your dad to come get you?' he gave her a stern look

'I can give her a lift back' Donna chimed 'If you want I can take you too Ape, then we can go to yours get your stuff for tonight, stop at mine whilst I pick up my stuff, then go to yours to get ready Em?' the girls just beamed at her 'that'll be great if you don't mind Don' April asked as Donna just nodded and smiled in response

'Do you wanna come get ready at mine with us for the party Tara?' Emery asked as the others turned instantly to look at Tara,

'no' was her answer blunt and slightly aggressive, but Emery was used to this with Tara she didn't know what she'd ever done to piss of the young brunette, she'd never been horrible to her or anything she looked at Jax who just rolled his eyes and shook his head as she shrugged at him

'Okay, forget I said anything' Emery muttered as Tara just gave her a pointed glare, 'look what the hell is your problem Knowles?' Emery spat at her

'My problem _Trager_ is that you keep trying to sink your nails into my boyfriend' she argued back, feeling her rage bubble up inside her completely she let go not even hearing the bell ring and the other students leave that café, all except for those on the table who put their heads down trying not to witness the awkward confrontation, all except Jax who watched the whole thing,

'you have got to be kidding me, Jax and I are friend's nothing more and if you don't like it then you can swivel, I'm sick and tired of your pettiness grow the fuck up! You're 18 yet you're acting like a jealous 12 year old!' she took a deep breath as Tara piped up standing to tower over the table at Emery

'you think I don't see the way your all over him, the way you smile at him, and touch him, the way you cling to him on his bike' she spat

'well as flattered as I am that you watch me that much Tara its borderline creepy' her voice was dripping in sarcasm ' I am no different with Jax then I am with Ope, their my best friend's and practically family, you don't see Donna going all little miss psycho'

'In all honesty I don't really give a shit about your bullshit, Jax if she's going to that party tonight then we're not' she looked to him, his eyes widening

'what? Look Tara I love you, I do but this is a club thing I can't not be there' Emery couldn't help but feel guilty her outburst had put Jax in an uncomfortable position but she knew Tara had done this on purpose, because usually if she pulled this card Emery would back off and not go so her and Jax could, but she was sick of being pushed around, trying not to step on her precious toes if she was gonna have to deal with the looks and the bullshit Tara put her through on a regular basis she was sure as hell gonna start giving her a reason.

'You heard me', Tara said 'if she goes we don't' she spoke again as if thinking Emery hadn't heard since she hadn't spoken up about staying home

'no Tara, if you don't wanna go that's fine, but I'm going, and so is Red' he said finality in his voice

'so you're choosing her?' Tara snapped her anger obvious in her tone as Jax just shook his head in disbelief, and without letting him speak anymore she got up and stomped off to her next lesson at least that's where she assumed the brunette was going.

Emery just looked down as Jax looked at her 'I'm sorry, she just, she gets under my skin and I just lost control' she looked up to him grey eyes meeting blue ' I'm sorry I'll apologise when I see her'

'no Red, you didn't do or say anything that wasn't true, don't beat yourself up about it' he turned to the rest of the group 'see you all later, come on bro we gotta go' he smiled to Opie, after everyone had said their goodbyes the boys walked off to their bikes as the girls went to their respective classes.

Later on that night the girls had all headed over to the clubhouse to get ready in Emery's room, 'okay girls if you guys can set your stuff out im gonna go see if I can snag us a couple of beers' Emery chimed as she left her room in search of beer, walking into the bar area, there was two new people who she'd never seen before sat at the bar, one was facing her way and in her opinion he was pretty fit, he had a short mohawk with tattoos on either side that if she had to say what they looked like she'd have to say a weird lightning bolt of some kind. The second had his back towards her, so she could only make out his prospect cut and his light brown hair which was shaved quite short on each side and the back, with the top being longer and it was brushed back.

'you okay baby?' Gemma called to her

'erm, yeah I just came to see if I could get some beers for me and the girls, also who are they?' she nodded in the direction of the prospects

'sure no problem hunny, oh their just the new prospects to the charming charter, one with the head tats is called juice, the others Ryan, come on I'll introduce you' she chatted away as she began practically dragging her over to the prospects at the bar. Walking over a huge grin spread across the lad Gemma had said was called Juice's face, 'hey' he held his hand out for her, hesitantly she shook it 'im Juice , this here's Ryan' he gestured to the boy sitting opposite him. That was the first time Emery got a look at him, she couldn't help but stare he had beautiful green eyes, that she could only describe as emerald with a slight stubble, she'd say he was definitely older than her possibly Opie's age but she wasn't sure, not realising how long she'd been staring the boy cleared his throat as she shook her head blushing slightly,

'sorry I'm Emery' she spoke slightly embarrassed that people had witness the awkward exchange as she looked around to see Gemma smirking at her, in that moment she wished she was dressed better her hair was shoved up in a messy bun with a pencil sticking out, since she'd been doing some art work whilst April showered, she had on a baggy Samcro hoodie and paint splattered jeans, in that moment she well and truly wanted to climb under a rock and hide, possibly for the foreseeable future. 'Nice to meet you' Ryan's deep voice rang out 'you been decorating or something?' he asked looking her up and down causing her to blush more, should she say she was doing homework, she didn't really want to say she was in high school when this boy was probably older, 'erm no I was just doing some art wor-' she was cut off as a commotion came flying through the door, looking she saw her father being held up by Jax and Chibs, he was slack in their arms, instantly fear gripped her 'what happened?!' she screamed.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Thank you for the likes, fav's and reviews :) everything you recognise from SAO is Sutters._**

 ** _Chapter 7- Bloodied hand's_**

She could feel herself go cold this is it, she'd been waiting for this, for something to go wrong for her to lose him just like she had her mum, it would be sudden and they'd be nothing she'd be able to do about it and like she did so many years ago she'd just have to wait for is body to grow cold, her mind continued to drift back to the night her mother was murdered by the two masked men until she was pulled out by Chib's voice 'your dad got into a little accident lass, got hit with a bullet' Chibs announced, instantly Emery took off to get the medical kit and blankets, whilst there she fought to keep the hurt and scared look off her face though she knew everyone had just seen her lapse into her weakness even the new prospects had noticed. Coming back into the room her dad was sprawled out onto a table, rushing over she took Chibs place putting pressure on her father's thigh whilst Chibs rifled through the medical bag. Chibs had previously been a medic in the army and had some knowledge, he had taught Emery as much as he'd known, after all two people being medically capable were better than one. 'You're an idiot!' she shouted at her dad 'what were you thinking?' she demanded

'first things first Angel, please can I have a drink and secondly can't we talk about this later?' he pleaded, it crushed him seeing the terrified expression which etched his daughters face whenever he came home bloodied, or even one of the other members. 'Jax, get him some whisky please, Juice pass me that antibacterial wash' she called out as Jax looking slightly startled nodded rushing of to get what was needed, she couldn't help but notice he looked like he'd seen a ghost or that he was gonna be sick, she'd be sure to talk to him about it later but right now she had to help her father. Trying to keep herself calm she took deep breaths and peeled away the towel she was trying to stop the bleeding with, she bit her lip as she took a closer look, 'I don't think you've done a massive amount of damage, I don't think you've hit an artery' she shook her head placing the cloth back on and taking a deep breath. The others crowded round as Chibs came over with things to stich the wound with and an injection she knew would be morphine.

'okay lass, I'm gonna let you do this, you could use the practice and I don't have my glasses on me' he handed her the stuff, 'I'll help you out but you can take control' she looked at him shocked

'what, No!, Chibby I can't I mean I don't even know where to start, I've never done anything like this, not even practiced it Chibs please!' she replied her nervousness reappearing as Donna and April came running in, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder and turned to find Ryan looking down at her, god he was tall she thought, then instantly felt bad for getting distracted 'you can do this' he encouraged

'you don't even know me, how do you know what I can and can't do?' she bit back not meaning to sound so rude

'because I know Chibs, and he wouldn't trust you to do it if he didn't think you could' he replied she looked to Chibs as he nodded his head, taking a deep breath to steady herself she let Chibs put pressure on the wound as she put some gloves on 'okay', she breathed slightly high pitched 'I got this' she gave a quick look to Opie and Jax who nodded to her. She wanted to become a nurse it was her ambition though she hated that fact it was something her and Tara had in common, she was passionate about being able to save people which sounded kind of stupid since she was a apart of Samcro but it would help them all since them coming home injured, albeit not always with gunshot wounds was common.

After she'd soaked the wound with the cleanser, not too gently as her dad screamed in protest, claiming she was doing it on purpose which she simply gave him a false smile and stating in a small voice that it would teach him a lesson, she'd injected the morphine and began stitching him up, finally letting her nerves die down as she knew everything was gonna be okay. 'don't think were not gonna talk about this pop's' she muttered as her dad rolled his eyes at her, sedated slightly by the beer he held in his hand which was now his fourth if she was counting properly.

'okay, I need a shot, then I'm gonna go get ready for this party' Emery announced as she peeled the gloves off, although her hands underneath remained bloodied from putting pressure on the wound, she could she Gemma smiling at her, as Chibs patted her on the back, 'see lass I told you you'd be fine' he spoke softly to her 'you did a grand job' making her way to her bedroom she got collective pats on the back from the members and Ryan just gave her a smile as she walked past, inside she couldn't help but feel I little triumphant that she'd impressed him. Once her and the girls finally made it into her bedroom April was the first to pull her into a hug, she noticed how Emery didn't return the embraced and pulled back to look at her with an eyebrow raised, 'sorry I didn't wanna get blood on you' she muttered looking at her hands and her clothes which were coated in her father's blood, she excused herself making her way to the bathroom, though she didn't miss the sympathetic looks April and Donna shared as they watched her walk away.

Standing in the shower she let the hot water run over her, as she let the tears she'd been holding back fall, she could have lost her dad today, she could lose any one member of her family at any point, though she'd never show her family this weakness, she didn't want them to think she couldn't handle this, she didn't want to be sheltered and every time she thought about tonight all she could see was the looks that Donna and April had shared, so standing there in the shower she let the last of her tears fall and vowed she would never let anyone, not Donna, not April and especially not the members of the club see her so unsettled or weak ever again.

April had just finished curling her hair when her best friend came out of the bathroom in her towel her wet hair curling down her back, the first thing she noticed was that she was smiling, 'so girls, think you guys can help me get ready or I'm never gonna be done in time?' she asked, all traces of the sadness she wore across her face vanished. April knew her friend thought that by her showing her emotion like she had meant she was weak but the truth was she thought Emery was by far the strongest person she knew, day in day out she faced the shit that Rita threw at her, she dealt with the people she loved going out doing things she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to know, not knowing if they were coming back safe. April knew more than she should about the club her father was the clubs lawyer, Tig and Clay had met Richard after one of the girls many play dates some years ago. Though her father never told her any club business Emery confided in her often enough for her to get the jist of what the club was about, but she never saw them as being bad people. Knowing her friend obviously didn't want to talk about her moment of weakness she put on the biggest smile she could and replied cheerfully to her friend, 'sure, I can do your hair whilst you do your make-up and Donna can pick out an outfit for you but only on one condition' Donna and April shared a look Emery knew meant they were curious, 'name it' Emery replied with a broad smile, 'you have to tell us about Juice and Ryan, especially Ryan' she practically hummed to her.

The party was in full swing, Emery could feel the alcohol making her feel light as her and the girls played darts, Emery hitting her mark every time even in her intoxicated state whilst Donna and April kept trying, April was in second place with Donna loosing though no-one was keeping count. Absorbed in their conversation and jibes the girls didn't notice the two prospect's approach, 'well you scrub up well' Ryan nudge Emery, hoping her blush wasn't too obvious she kept her gaze on what she was hoping to be neutral she smiled a little replying ' hey those were my comfy clothes, no judging'

'well guess I better get used to seeing you in your comfies then, since me and juicy will be living here' he winked at her,

'you mean your living here at the clubhouse permanently?' now curious of the two newbies

'yeah, I mean Clays making us enroll into our final year at the high school' he rolled his eyes at her 'we don't really have any family, grew up in foster care but, I guess we were too badass for people to handle' he smirked at her, she couldn't help but notice he didn't even flinch when he told her about the fact he was brought up in care though she was certain he'd seen the sympathy in her eyes.

'so your about the same age as Jax and Opie then?' she replied lightly trying to change the subject

As the night went on her and Ryan stayed in conversation, one of them occasionally getting up to get the beers, as Donna had drifted to Jax and Opie's table and Juice and April were doing shots at the bar, Jax couldn't help but watch the interaction between Red and the new kid, she kept smiling at the things he was saying to her, did she like him?, did this mean he was gonna loose her? No she wouldn't ever do that, that wasn't what she was like, beside she hadn't left him once he and Tara had started hooking up and she got a seriously hard time off Tara.

He'd spent the night just sat drinking he could feel the alcohol flowing through him, numbing him, being numb was good it was what he needed tonight, his thoughts kept trailing back to the job and how it had gone sideways fast, what was supposed to be an easy job, just a talk with Darby and the Nord's, telling him to keep his crank out of Charming, that's all it was supposed to be. He hadn't anticipated three or four people coming out of the back room guns firing, aiming for whichever son they could, Happy had pushed him down behind a table as they flipped it onto its side for cover, he'd seen Tig running and saw one of the Nords take aim at him as he ran, almost instinctively he squeezed the trigger to his own gun, shooting the rival crew member straight in the head. He never killed before and he didn't know how to handle the guilt?, Jax didn't feel guilt for a lot of things, he never felt guilt for any of the times he'd kicked the shit out of anyone provoked or not, he didn't even give a shit about how he'd treated the crow eaters before he'd got into a relationship with Tara, but tonight he couldn't get that damn Nord's face out of his mind. He wanted to talk to Emery about it she was his calm, but would she look at him like he was a monster? Or would she comfort him and tell him it was okay? He'd never felt so conflicted before, he couldn't lose her though, that would crush him he could never lose his little Red.

Emery left Ryan's side to catch up with the girls having to help a staggering April into the seat at the table, the girl had obviously met her match in Juice when it came to shots, Emery couldn't believe how long her and Ryan had been sat talking together, they talked about nothing of real importance, they just discussed the sons, he'd asked what the relationships were between Jax, Opie and herself , and they'd shared some funny childhood memories, his mainly being about times that he and Juice had annoyed the shit out of people or how they'd placed bets to see who could do the worst thing to get kicked out of their foster homes, she found his honesty and forthcoming quite refreshing, she couldn't help but think that maybe she would start enjoying the Samcro parties a little more with him around.

As Donna, April and Emery sat around their table laughing and joking Emery couldn't help but unconsciously throw glances in Ryan's direction in fact truth be told she hadn't even noticed she was doing it until Donna spoke up 'so what with you and Ryan?' she asked innocently

'what do you mean?, I just met the guy, I'm curious' she replied trying to sound honest

'well he's definitely hot that's for sure' April winked at her 'I mean I don't think anyone could blame you if you had the hots for him' she wiggled her eyebrows at her,

'I do not have the hots for him' she defended herself

'course not because you haven't been keeping an eye on him for the last two and a half hours' Donna chimed

'okay so maybe he's a little hot' Emery admitted in what was practically a whisper

'just a little ay, and here was me thinking there wasn't possibly a darker shade of red you could turn every time you talk to him' April said coolly a she mock inspected her nails

'its that obvious' Emery groaned as she dropped her head into her folded arms at the table as the girls all laughed at her

Sometime later on into the night as people began passing out and crow eater's lay across many of the sons in various stages of dress, Emery and Donna practically carried April to bed since she'd passed out at the table as the girls had continued drinking, chatting and giggling, afterwards Donna had retreated to Opies bedroom as Emery continued her search for Jax after not seeing him for hours and remembering how he'd looked earlier, she knew she wanted to speak to him, but trying to find him whilst in a slightly intoxicated state was proving quite difficult, not having any luck finding him outside by the picnic benches or in his bedroom she decided to go to the one place that was theirs, the only place that only her, Opie and Jax ever went, the roof.

Sitting in the cold air felt good, he took a deep drag of his cigarette inhaling deeply, he just couldn't get that man's face out of his mind, and he wasn't so sure what it was that scared him most, was it the fact that he'd easily pulled that trigger which ended another person's life or was it that although he felt guilt for what he'd done, the thing that was haunting him most about it was that he was terrified about what Emery's reaction would be to what he had done, did that make him a terrible person? Would she hate him? Although she was brought up in this life and she had some basic understanding about what went on, she was always the one with the conscious, she pretty much carried around the guilt the members of the club should carry, she tried to relieve them of their burdens, he couldn't do that to her, he wouldn't let her try to carry his guilt, this was completely on him and truth be told he could handle it, he'd been somewhat prepared for it, he could get through this if it meant that she still cared about him, that she would forgive him. He sat on the rooftop sipping from a large bottle of Jack Daniels deep in thought, when a noise caused him to turn.

The breeze was the first thing to hit her when she opened the hatch leading to the rooftop and lone and behold there sat the one and only Jax Teller, though looking at him she couldn't help but think that right in that moment, in the glimpse she got of him before he plastered on his fake smile which she knew he thought she didn't see through, he didn't look like her Jax, He looked older and haunted, what could possibly have happened in the space of those few hours they'd spent apart to make him change from his usually chirpy self into this stranger she didn't quite recognise in front of her. Giving him a smile she hoped didn't scream 'I know your hiding something from me', she made her way towards him taking a seat close to him in an attempt to claim some of his body heat. She reached over taking the bottle and taking a large gulp from it relishing in the stream of heat it left in its wake as it travelled down her throat, all the while Jax was studying her closely as she handed him back the bottle.

'so we gonna talk about whats up with you?' she asked cautiously,

'nothings up, im good, just wanted some air' his husky voiced drawled

'come on Jackson, don't play me for a fool' she looked up at him 'I know you, remember, I saw your face when you came in with the others earlier, and I know that you being up here spending some alone time with good ol Jack over here, when there's a party going on downstairs ain't exactly normal Jax Teller behaviour you know' she spoke as she nudged him causing him to give her a small smile she knew was half hearted.

'look, Em your better off just leaving this, it's not exactly a conversation I'm dying to have with you' he looked down at his hands as he spoke

Gently placing her hand over his he looked across at her, 'what happened Jax?, something obviously happened on that job, just talk to me' she pleaded. Taking a deep breath and nodding his head he tried to look ahead instead of facing her but he couldn't tear himself away from her innocent grey eyes, as much as he didn't want to see what her reaction to the news was going to be, he had to see, he had to know, because not knowing what her initial reaction was would eat him up for god knows how long.

'okay, well we went on the run, had to have a conversation with Darby, he's been selling crank in charming' he took another deep breath 'during the conversation some nord's came running out guns blazing, just, just firing at us, all of us' she had some idea of where this was going, what she didn't understand was why he seemed so unsettled by it all, Jax never showed remorse for anything not even beating up some ass who had annoyed him but hadn't really done anything wrong, never, however she just nodded to him spurring him to continue,

'me and Hap got behind a table but I saw one of them aiming for your old man, and I just aimed and' he hesitated so she squeezed his hand as a sign of comfort, she just wanted to be put out of her misery, the cold air beginning to sober her up,

'then I just fired, man I killed him Emery… today I killed him' he stopped just staring at her waiting expectantly, though what he was expecting to find in her expression she wasn't sure

'you and I have both always known that things happen behind the closed doors of the club Jackson' she started as he continued to gaze at her, 'and we both knew the club wasn't squeaky clean, and im not saying that its right to kill people, because my moral compass just can't accept that' at saying this Jax turned his face away from her, catching a glimpse of his expression as he turned away from her she could see the hurt he was trying to stop her from seeing if there's one thing Jackson Teller hated more than anyone harming or threatening his club, his family, it was being weak, showing weakness to anyone, although he would show more to Emery than anyone, he would never even show her the hurt she now saw spread across his face. Leaving her one hand covering his she grasped his chin softly with the other turning his face back around to face her, then moved her hand up to his cheek 'but, you saved my dad's life today Jax' she spoke softly to him 'I don't see you any differently than I did when you left me at school hours ago, the way I see it you were protecting your family and thanks to you my dad took a bullet to the leg and not the chest, thanks to you my dad came home to me, my whole family came home to me' she continued 'an truth be told, if it ever comes to it being you or one of our enemies, I choose you and my family coming home every time' she could feel all the tension leave him as she finished her words, silently she leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his cheek 'I will always need you to come home, to come back to me, okay' he just nodded to her as she snuggled in closer to him and they began sharing the bottle between them.

'oh by the way, Aprils passed out starfishing my bed, so mind if I share with you?' she looked up at him laughing, he couldn't help but laugh, that was April all right, she seemed like the classier of the three friends at first sight but get to know her and soon enough you'd find out she was as common as the rest, with no real sense of shame.

'sure thing Red' he nudged her playfully.

He couldn't help the feeling that spread through him at her words, she needed him to come home she always wanted him to come home, and for her he would do everything in his power to always make sure that happened, he could live with the guilt, he would live with the guilt, because as much as he hadn't wanted to, by sharing this moment with his Red he'd felt some of that guilt lifted and he knew that she now would carry part of his burden with him and for that he truly loved her….wait love, as a friend right?


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8- Ah Hell_**

 ** _Thank you for the likes,fav's and reviews :) Disclosure- Anything you recognise from SOA is Sutter what you don't recognise which is mainly Emery and April are mine- thank you :)_**

Day's had passed since Jax had opened up to her about the shooting and all things seemed to be going pretty well, well as good as they could really for a notorious mc, although they were still having trouble with the Mayans, Darby had backed off a bit, making some of the club a bit anxious as they assumed he was thinking of a new move to play. Jax and Tara had sorted out their shit and things seemed to be going well for them, and although that meant that she got to spend less time with Jax, Emery was just glad to see that Jax finally seemed quite settled and happy, besides Ryan had started spending more time with her and gave her lifts to and from school, Juice and Ryan had easily fitted into the small friendship group, April and Juice had become fast friends and Emery was pretty sure that they might possibly become more than that pretty soon, though she had no hard evidence. Opie and Donna were as in love as ever, and all things seemed good, too good.

He waited outside for the red head to make an appearance, Juice had already left to take April home and had told him that he'd meet him back at the clubhouse. He enjoyed his new life in Charming and being a prospect for the sons, but what made it even better was that he got to spend time with a certain grey eyed girl. When he'd first met her, she'd had left him somewhat stunned never before had he seen a girl look so beautiful in what he would refer to as comfy clothes, she'd had little to no make-up on and yet she was stunning, she wasn't the usual girl he'd go for, he'd go for the typical crow eater type. Short skirts low cut top's, boobs and ass practically falling out, probably because he knew they were easy, he wouldn't have to graft for their attention. Emery however seemed completely different and she left him curious, how did a girl that was brought up in the world of Samcro have so much compassion and sympathy for people, even people who wronged her, since he'd started going to Charming high, he'd witness Emery threaten the Mayan president's daughter, though he didn't fail to see the guilt that captured her face for all of a second when the Spanish girl had walked off tail between her legs, she had it in her to be cruel after all she was practically a son, she was strong and he'd heard she could be violent if she needed to be when he was re-told the story of when she'd gotten into a fist fight with the tanned girl. Looking at her he couldn't picture it, sure she seemed extremely strong willed but he couldn't imagine her fighting at all. He knew he was starting to feel something for her but each time it reared its head he forced it back down, there was one very important rule, especially for prospects and that was that Emery Trager was well and truly off limits.

He was pulled from his thought when a melodic voice drifted to him, 'you didn't have to wait you know' Emery called to him as he looked up green eyes meeting grey 'I could have walked home'

'yeah and your dad would have killed me' he smirked at her 'and then Clay, and then especially Jax and Opie and I think you're getting the point' he continued to grin as she got closer taking the helmet from him

'so your telling me the only reason you're here is because your scared of getting your ass kicked?' she laughed at him

'yep, that's the only reason, at least that's the only reason I'm gonna admit too princess' he responded popping the p and winking at her as he called her princess, inwardly grinning like an idiot at the fact he'd managed to make her blush. He'd started calling her princess after he'd herd Rita refer to her as the princess of Charming and it kind of stuck. He couldn't help but bask in the feeling of her arms snaking around his waist, and holding him firmly, resting her chin on his shoulder blade as she lifted her head up to tell him she was ready, feeling her touch and her breath on his neck he couldn't help but picture her, her dark red hair spread around her head, grey eyes gazing up at him with want and excitement, as he hovered above her naked body, dipping his head to kiss her delicate neck.

'hey, I said I'm ready Ryan' she nudged him pulling him from his daydream, glad he was facing the front so she couldn't see his slight blush or notice the bulge that now showed at his crotch, not trusting his voice he simply nodded before starting his bike and riding off in the direction of the clubhouse, trying to get his mind and his boner under control.

Only a few minutes into the ride home a dark SUV was driving up his ass, behind it two bikes pulled out the distinct handlebars on the bikes told him they were Mayan, picking up speed he felt Emery's arms tighten and he knew she knew something was up, if he had been on his own it wouldn't have bothered him so much but the fact he had Emery on the back had him a little panicked, he couldn't exactly start firing off rounds and he hoped and prayed that they wouldn't open fire since her being on the back left her open and exposed for an easy target. The SUV was easily keeping pace with him and bumped into the back jolting the bike forward he heard Emery give a little squeak as the car made contact, he squeezed her hand at his waist and told her to hold tight and he put one foot down for balance and rounded the corner at an unsafe speed, the car couldn't turn in time, however the bikes stayed on him. Next thing he herd was gun shots, though he was guessing they were more of a warning as none found their intended target, from behind him he heard Emery scream before shouting 'Give me your gun' he couldn't help but be stunned as he lifted up his cut at the back and she grabbed the gun, he heard her cock it and then she began firing but of course Emery being Emery aimed only for the mirrors to start with hoping they'd back off. Next thing he knew there was a loud popping sound and the bike began to swerve he had no control so if he had to guess he'd say they'd shot out a tyre, the bike hit the floor sending both him and Emery skidding along the floor, he felt as she was ripped away from him at the force of impact. He hit his head hard and as he saw a man and a girl approaching Emery he fought to lift himself, he got to his feet before he felt another blow to his head sending him to the floor blacking out.

Emery let out a pained groan, the whole of her one side as throbbing with pain, she looked across to Ryan to see him struggling to his feet, before seeing the Mayan president slam his fist into his head sending him unconscious to the floor, she looked down to see her thigh was bleeding with deep scratches stretching the length of her leg effectively up to her waist, her head was bleeding and as she tried to assess her damage and if they was any way she could get Ryan and herself out of this she heard a high pitch laugh and couldn't help the colour drain from her face… Rita

'wow that looks pretty nasty' she cooed to Emery, 'let me help you up there sweetie' she grabbed Emery's hair and dragged her to her knees, refusing to let out a cry at the pain she felt coursing through her entire left side and her head she let out a heavy grunt, she should have known, Rita had let the beating go pretty quickly with no real comeback she should have anticipated something like this, she only caught a glimpse of Rodrigo before his fist collided with her cheek sending her backwards to the floor and Rita dragged her back up again, he went to strike her again but his arm was caught by his father, Alverez began shouting at him in Spanish, she didn't know much of the language but she could tell he wasn't impressed about the fact that his son had struck a girl. 'Rita get this done, before he wakes up' he gestured towards Ryan, 'we keep this between the girls to prevent a war from ensuing' Alverez barked at his son.

Rita didn't waste any time lunging for Emery like a hungry lioness pouncing on its prey, Emery could feel every hit, every knee that connected with her already fragile body, not wanting to give up although she knew Alverez and his men would intervene if she hurt the Spanish girl, she managed to flip them and smashed the back of Rita's head off the concrete and managing to head-butt the girl before she was pulled from her by Rodrigo and slammed into the ground, she didn't know what happened after that, her head connected with the ground and everything went black.

Ryan came to just as the bikes and car were speeding away with fear gripping him he looked around to find Emery lying in what must be an uncomfortable position on the ground, with her legs tucked under her body, ignoring the throbbing of pain in his arm and head he ran towards her and dropped next to her fearing she was dead, he put his head to her chest and relaxed a little at hearing her heart beat and the feeling of the slight rise and fall of her chest, he pulled out his phone and rang for an ambulance, debating on whether he should ring Tig now or when he got to the hospital, knowing he was already in for a beating from the sergeant at arms, for failing to keep his daughter safe, he decided to ring him now so he could meet her at the hospital.

She woke to voices, one was very distinct and she knew was her father's, and he was well and truly pissed off she thought for a moment that maybe she could pretend to be asleep so she wouldn't have to face him, but behind the anger emanating from his voice she could tell there was an underlying worry,

'You should have kept her safe!' he bellowed at who she could only assume was Ryan since he had been the one that was with her

'I tried, I did but I couldn't shake them, and then they blew out the tyre, I tried to get to her but someone knocked me out, I'm sorry Tig' he pleaded with the crazy blue eyed son,

'I don't give a shit you should have tried harder, look at her!, I ought to beat your ass right now, you stupid son of a bitch' he continued

'I know and I'd let you' he replied solemnly

'Its not his fault dad' Emery's voiced croaked out not sounding at all as authoritive as she had hoped, she was greeted by concerned green and blue eyes, her father was at her side in an instant, slowly stroking her hair and kissed her on the head, 'I'm okay pa' she half whispered to him, as she looked to Ryan who just stood with his head down.

'no, your not' her dad replied with a flat voice 'you got pretty beat up angel, dipshit over there said it was the mayan's that true?' he asked eyes blazing

'dad don't, it wasn't his fault, nobody could have known, it's my own fault for getting in a fight with Rita'

'why take such a long time to retaliate?, it doesn't make sense' he began pacing

'dad look just calm down and don't do something stupid, Alverez said to Rodrigo not to get involved, he said keeping it between us girls would prevent a war with Samcro' she looked to him eyes pleading, she didn't want any of her family getting hurt not over something like this.

The door creaked open revealing Jax's blonde head, 'sorry I got here as soon as I could, ma and the others are on their way' he gave a tight smile to Emery when he saw she was okay

'Jesus Christ Red, she really did a number on you' he walked over to her tentively putting a hand to her cheek

'she can't take all the glory, Rodrigo got his revenge hit in' really wishing she could take back what she'd just said when she saw Jax's eyes blaze with anger, then without any real warning he turned and slammed his fist hard into Ryan's face, not anticipating the hit Ryan fell to the floor but quickly scrambled to his feet facing Jax,

'stop!, just stop!' Emery screamed at Jax, he followed Ryan's wide eyed gaze towards Emery, who had stumbled out of bed nearly falling but for her father catching her, 'Take it easy angel' he soothed to her 'you've got a fairly bad head injury'

'I don't need this right now' she scolded the boy's 'like I said to my dad, it wasn't his fault Jax, I know you need something to take your anger out on but, he's not the one that deserves it'

'it's okay princess, their right I should have protected you better, you shouldn't forgive so easy kid' his voice was flat, not the usual jokey tone she was used to with Ryan.

Jax couldn't help but notice the look Ryan gave Emery, he cared about her that much was for sure, and he knew Ryan would never let anything happen to Emery if he could help it and although Ryan would always joke and say it was because he didn't want to be on the wrong end of Tig's wrath, or the fact that he knew many of the club members, the Tacoma killer to name one would have literally kicked the shit out of him, Jax knew the prospect was starting to feel something for his Red and in some ways that kind of irritated him. Now Jax had gotten some of his rage out in the form of giving Ryan an already forming shiner he could see the emotion he held in his gaze for Emery and he could see that it killed him to see her so beat up and on his watch too.

As her father helped her back into bed, she turned to him asking for him to ask the nurse for her to be discharged, she hated being in the hospital, and on top of that she hated being treated like an invalid, she couldn't wait for the queen of samcro to come, it was truly exhausting trying to keep these boys in check, and she had developed a new found respect for the fact Gemma managed it without even breaking a sweat.

'I dunno angel, if they think it best for you to sta-' he began before she cut him off

'look pa, I have a concussion and a few scrapes and bruises, nothing that can't be handled at home by Chibby no doubt, or even one of the other sons' she turned her puppy dog eyes to her dad, 'I just wanna go home, or go to the clubhouse please daddy' he gave a heavy sign and she knew she'd won, as he walked off to get the discharge papers, she would have been wearing a triumphant smile if it wasn't for the fact her face hurt to smile. 'hey Ryan think you could hand me that mirror' she motioned for the small mirror on the drawers across from her bed, he gave a simple nod moving to get it her. This would be it once she saw how bad her face actually looked she was gonna hate him too, her left eye was swollen, just slightly covering her once beautiful grey eye which was now ugly and bloodshot, her full lips were swollen and cracked, and the thick cut that stretched just under her cheek bone was ugly and could possibly scar, she was gonna hate him, how could he have let this happen to her, her whole face was either bulged or bruised, he saw Jax give him a weary look a he handed her the mirror, both boys not thinking this was a good idea at all.

Noticing the looks the boys shared, she'd gathered it was bad her view was slightly blocked over her left eye so she knew it was swollen, and as silly as it seemed she couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed that Jax and Ryan had witness her looking so bad, although inside she wanted nothing more than to cry, cry for the fact that she'd been beaten, cry for the pain she felt in the entire of her left side, and as shallow as it sounded she wanted to cry for the fact she couldn't bring herself to look at the marks that marred her leg and possibly her face, she knew her legs were scratched she had got a good look before the beating had started. She took a deep breath, she'd made a pact to herself she would not let anyone see her weak, see her cry, or see her scared. 'you boys mind giving me a sec?' she asked in what she hoped was her normal cheery voice, 'just wanna give myself the once over and I think dad would kill both of you if you saw more skin than he deems respectable' she gave a light chuckle as both boys gave a tight smile leaving the room.

Although the curiosity was eating at her she just couldn't bring herself to raise the mirror she held in her hand, maybe if she didn't know it would be better, maybe then she could continue to act like it was fine, she couldn't cry for any injury she didn't see right?, whilst stuck in her internal debate she didn't notice someone had crept into the room until she felt a warm hand squeeze her free one, she jumped slightly as she turned to face Gemma, 'hey, baby girl' she gave her a reassuring smile, 'you don't have to do that right now you know'

'better to just get it over with though eh' although Emery's voice was small she knew it didn't give away any of her fear,

'their gonna discharge you, I just wondered if you wanted to go home or stay and the clubhouse to recover?' she asked

'that depends, are you guys gonna leave me alone If I come to the clubhouse or are you just gonna fuss around me, because if you are I choose home' she grinned at Gemma ignoring the pain and the tear she felt as her lip re-split,

'you got it baby girl, I'll go on ahead of you and clean your bedding at the clubhouse' Emery rolled her eyes at her somewhat mother 'after that no fussing, promise' she held up her hand in mock surrender, as she backed towards the door, 'oh by the way, just one more person wants to see you, he's kind of tearing up the ward out there, the rest of us will meet you at the clubhouse' she left the door and within seconds a bald head peeped through the door, she could see the panic leave Happy's eyes as he saw she was awake and somewhat okay, she then saw his rage return as he took in all of her injuries, silently he walked over to her bed as she moved her legs over a bit he sat next to her holding onto her free hand the other still gripping the mirror tightly.

'you looked?' Happy's deep husky voice rang out after what seemed an age of silence, she just bit her lip and shook her head, then he saw her release her bottom lip and put on a straight determined face,

'not yet people keep interrupting me' she nudged him forcing a smile to hide the pain that coursed through her

'don't do that' he spoke 'not to me' she looked at him curiously though she knew what he meant, 'since your pa came back injured you've put up a wall with everyone, I won't let you do that to me' he squeezed her hand, she wasn't sure if she knew anyone stronger than Happy, he never seemed to be upset or fazed by anything that he saw the only time he ever showed emotion was if it was something concerning Emery, surely she could let down that wall in front of him, he wouldn't judge her for being weak, would he? She just simply nodded to her godfather and raised the mirror to look at her reflection.

Looking at herself she couldn't help the tears that flowed, she didn't recognise herself, she looked worse than what Rita had when Emery had smashed her face off a sink, Rita must have continued to beat her once she'd blacked out, she held a hand to her mouth as she choked back a sob, within seconds of her crying, Happy had put his arms around her and cradle her gently to his chest, after what seemed to have been an age she pulled away from him sniffing and straightening her expression, she wiped the tears from under her eyes 'sorry Hap, that wasn't supposed to happen' she gave him a small smile,

'put your wall up all you want kid, but don't ever hide from me, you hear me' although he was trying to soothe her she couldn't help but think his voice still sounded like a threat, she couldn't help but laugh at him as he wiped her tears for her.

Days had passed since her beating and she was still living at the clubhouse, Jax had swung by as soon as she got there with Tiberius he knew she'd be wanting him, for the first few days she spent the most of her time in her room, moving was painful so it was the better option for her. Jax, Opie and even April would stop by all the time and watch films with her or fill her in on the gossip. Even Tara had stopped round with Jax and had given her some cream for her legs and her face, saying that it would help prevent the scarring, it was kind of a peace offering on Tara's part and Emery couldn't help but be grateful, as time had passed she didn't care about the beating all she cared and prayed for was firstly that her face didn't scar and that hopefully her legs wouldn't either, she lived in summer dresses and her legs being that badly scarred meant she wouldn't be able to wear them anymore. She couldn't help but feel guilty as she worried about something so superficial when there were many people in the world way worse off than she was.

More days passed and Emery moved back home she'd be going back to school tomorrow, and although she felt she was ready, even ready to face Rita she couldn't help but feel like she needed to sort out one more thing before going back, Ryan had been avoiding her and it was made more obvious since they had been practically living together, so she decided to confront him after all they'd become good friends she didn't want to lose him over his unnecessary guilt. Knocking on his bedroom door she heard him grunt a come in and taking a deep breath, she walked into his room to find a shocked Ryan sitting on his bed with his laptop on his lap, he was dressed in a grey tank top, with black sweatpants, his hair slightly dishevelled,

Looking around she couldn't help but compare his room to Jax's it was completely clean, like scary clean, he didn't even have any washing whatsoever scattered on his floor unlike Jax's bedroom, his walls were pretty bare apart from some shelves on the wall which held miscellaneous belongings

'Emery?' he breathed as she shut the door behind her she walked to sit at the bottom of his bed crossed legged, 'you shouldn't be in here if Tig knew-'

'dad's not here, besides I can come see you if your flat out avoiding me' she smiled shyly at him, wondering where her new found confidence had come from.

'I'm not avoiding you' he defended weakly, 'I just erm-' he scratched his head 'you look good' he gestured towards her, her face thankfully hadn't scarred and she was back to her normal self besides from a few dull bruises and cuts on her face, she was however the new owner of two finger length scar's on her upper leg where they joined her hip so she didn't dwell on it too much since she could still wear her dresses and they wouldn't ever really be seen. She stood up and gave a twirl

'yep, good as new' she smiled at him 'so you can stop beating yourself up about it' she hated that he was avoided her, she hated that he wasn't acting like his usual self, like her Ryan, she just wanted that back. 'you can go back to acting like my Ryan again' she beamed before realising what she'd said

'your Ryan?' he raised an eyebrow at her, as she felt her face burn up, idiot! I am well and truly an idiot she thought to herself

'you know the carefree, happy Ryan' she tried to hide her embarrassment as he moved the laptop onto his bedside table

'nah huh, you said _your_ Ryan, not normal Ryan' he smirked at her, standing

She gulped, fuck! Not smooth not smooth at all Emery 'well yeah, I mean my Ryan, as in the Ryan I know, as in the carefree Ryan' she started babbling as he stepped closer to her, oh god what should she do in all honesty she just wanted to run away.

As he reached her he tucked a lose strand of hair behind her ear and looked down at her, 'I'm glad you're better' he practically whispered, she found herself stood frozen 'I'm so sorry, that should never have happened, you should never have gotten hurt' he let out a breath as he ran his hands down her arms and held onto her hands, she was pretty sure that she'd stopped breathing but at this moment she didn't care, she could feel her warm hands in his cool grip, as she gazed up at his emerald eyes, eyes flickering to study his face, his strong jaw decorated by a stubble, his brown hair which now she looked closely had flecks of a lighter brown, almost blonde, she focused her gaze back to his eyes, trying to ignore the jolt that coursed through her at his touch, 'I have been avoiding you, but not just because of the accident, I mean some of it is, why didn't you hate me?' he looked at her confused as she let out a small giggle,

'why would I hate you Ryan?, you didn't crash the bike on purpose, you didn't hit me, I have no reason to hate you' she continued to gaze at him with honest eyes,

'no but I should have protected you better, I should have got you away safely, It killed me to see you laying on that floor lifeless I really thought you were dead' he looked to the ground, she couldn't help but let the butterflies happily flap around in her stomach as she thought about what he said, he was upset because she was hurt, it had bothered him, moving her head into his eye line she tried to lighten the mood, 'you care?, are you going soft on me?' she grinned at him his eyes widening at recognition to what he'd just said, god he was a fool, what was it about this girl that turned him into a damn 14 year old that couldn't keep his emotions, dreams, or his erections in check?, internally face palming himself he looked to her, what could he do, it would never work, her dad would string him up by his balls rather than let him date her.

'so maybe I do' he murmured to her, shocking her a little at his confession, not knowing what to do since they were now blanketed in an awkward silence, she began tickling him 'awwh big bad Ryan cares' she cooed at him as he desperately tried to move out of her reach laughing, 'stop, Emery, stop' he laughed as he managed to get behind her and begin tickling her in retaliation she spun around jumping back to try and get free but ended up toppling onto the bed pulling Ryan with her, she giggled as she saw a shocked Ryan looking down at her, his face gradually coming closer, he wasn't, was he?, was he actually going to kiss her, his face stopped inches from her own, 'they'd kill me' he whispered, she could see his internal struggle in his eyes, 'first rule, especially for prospects, Emery Trager is-'she rolled her eyes at him, he loved the sarcastic look she gave him then he was taken off guard and completely cut off when her lips pressed against his.

She couldn't help it, he was blabbering, she was aware of the whole 'Emery's out of bounds rule' and in her opinion it sucked, big time, so instead she decided to help the boy out by making his decision for him, she pressed her lips to his hard, cracked ones, feeling that jolt go through her again, she feared the worse when after their lips touched he pulled away from her and looked at her with terrified eyes, 'off limits' he finished, by now she was starting to panic had she read the signs wrong? Didn't he actually have feelings for her? She heard him take a breath,

'look, Emery I can-' he didn't get to finish what he wanted to say as she moved from under him letting out a quiet sorry and practically ran from his room, instantly guilt flooded him, shit! Was all he could think as he stood there putting his fingers to his lips were they still burned from the feeling of Emery's lips on his.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9- New Player_**

'I'm gonna kill him'

'look bro you heard what Red said, she said to leave it'

'that's because she's good, she's nice and she doesn't like hurting people'

'but the club would have to agree man'

'I know Hap and Piney wanna kill that Mayan piece of shit'

'yeah and me Ope would gladly do it, but that ain't what she wants bro'

Standing outside the door she could clearly hear her father's rant whilst Jax tried to calm him down, she knew that Rodrigo had been going on to Jax and Opie taunting them about the beat down Emery had received mainly from his sister, but she still didn't understand why they couldn't understand that she didn't want them going off half-cocked ready to start a war with the Mayans, it wasn't worth it, especially not for her, how many members of her family would get hurt or maybe even killed?, she couldn't handle that, she wouldn't be able to live with that. Already feeling shit, dealing with her dad when he was in this mood was just something she couldn't face right now, she was still reeling from her embarrassment, how was she supposed to face Ryan at school tomorrow, she couldn't. Hearing her dads voice get louder she took a deep breath and opened the front door to find her dad pacing with Jax sitting on the coffee table and Opie lounging on the sofa,

'I said I don't want you guy's to do anything, not to Rita, and not to Rodrigo' her dad tried to butt in but she held her hand up to him, shutting him up and making Jax and Opie look to each other 'this was my fight and Rita won, just leave it at that, I won't have you start a war over this, I won't let people I love get hurt over something so minor'

'Minor! She could have killed you Emery' Tig shouted at her, making Jax instantly wanna get the hell out of dodge, this wasn't gonna end well

'yeah well she didn't okay, so just let it go! It's my business ill handle it as I see fit' she raised her voice to match her fathers, stepping forward practically squaring up to him, Opie couldn't help but admire the way her grey eyes shone out fiercely, early on he and Jax had learnt not to go against Emery's wishes when it came to stuff like this when Jax had once started beating on some kid for trying to kiss her early on in high school, they'd seen that she was struggling to get away from him then Jax had stepped in, soon after though she had asked Opie to drag him off the bloodied boy and once he had she'd stepped between Jax and the boy, Jax seeing red tried to get around Emery all the while her telling him to leave it and that he'd done enough to the kid Jax being as pig headed as he was continued to try and grab the kid but was shocked into stillness when Emery had slapped him hard across the face, needless to say Jax left the kid alone after that.

'no I won't stand by and let that assole Rodrigo get away with hitting you, and I'll kill that bitc-'

'Stop! Look I really can't be assed to sit here and deal with you acting like a damn child! I don't get involved in your shit so stay the hell out of mine!' she shouted as she barged past him sending Tig staggering back a little as her shoulder slammed into his arm as she passed him and stormed up the stairs slamming her bedroom door shut behind her

'what the hell was that' Tig asked the boys in disbelief, Emery never spoke to him like that, hell, to say she was Samcro she was the most respectful out of all of em especially to him,

'maybe she's had a bad day?' Jax smirked at Tig, Tig obviously not amused

'yeah I was really getting that bad day vibe, then you just went and shit on her to make it worse' Opie piped up trying not to laugh

Sat on her bed holding Tiberius, she couldn't help but feel guilty she'd laid into her dad when all he wanted was to defend her, albeit rather stupidly but still she knew her dad was a do now, think about it later kinda guy. This day was just getting worse, she'd embarrassed herself in the worst way, making her friendship with Ryan awkward and now she'd been a complete ass to her dad, letting out a groan she face planted her bed stretching out face down, lying there she couldn't help but think about how she wished her mother was here, then she could talk to someone about what she could do, she obviously couldn't talk to her dad about what she thought of Ryan and definitely not any of the other sons, she needed a woman's advice as she wasn't entirely sure Gemma was the woman for the job, she'd probably talk to Clay, Clay would tell her dad then Ryan would no doubt be threatened to stay away from her and her dad definitely wouldn't let her anywhere near him. Why she was bothered she didn't know, let's face it Ryan wasn't interested he'd made that pretty clear, she just needed to suck it up, grow some balls and put it down to experience.

She was pulled from her thoughts by a knock at the door, 'go away' her voice was muffled slightly by the fact her face was still firmly planted in her bed, she heard the door creak open and secretly prayed it wasn't her dad, she could still see the shock in his face as she shouted at him, as another wave of guilt hit. Lying still she felt the bed go down beside her and a big hand began stroking the back of her hair

'wanna talk about it?' Opie's deep voice rang out

'not really' she muttered, he stopped stroking her hair and laughed when her hand started blindly feeling around for his, and placing it back on her head for him to continue stroking her hair once she'd found it.

'I'm guessing you were having a bad day before you walked in on our conversation?' he asked as she simply just nodded her head

'sure you don't wanna talk about it?' he asked again hoping she'd just spill he hated to see her like this, he felt like he always had quite a good read on her, he always knew if she was upset or angry, but he hadn't seen that coming, he hadn't really had a read on her since that day she had to stich up Tig. He didn't like it, he knew she thought she was the weak link in the club but she wasn't, she was everyone's humanity, the fact that they did bad things, horrible things to people, sometimes just to get their own way and they did it that often that most members did it without even thinking, without even feeling the guilt afterwards, but she always did and seeing her feel how they should feel brought them back, reminded them that what they were doing wasn't right but necessary, that it was to keep their family safe.

'come on redbird it can't be that bad'

'look really Ope, I appreciate it, I really do but I don't wanna talk about it'

'okay well me, your dad and Jax are heading over to the club, wanna come?'

Instantly she thought about Ryan, and internally cringed

'nah, im good, probably just gonna stay here and eat ice cream, contemplate life' she sat up slowly turning to face him 'does he hate me?' she asked furrowing her eyebrows

'no he's shocked but he doesn't hate you' he chuckled 'everyone has bad days Em' he shrugged before kissing her head and leaving as she slumped back down onto her bed.

Not even realising she'd fallen asleep until she woke in darkness, she made her way downstairs to make some coffee, after pouring it and adding milk and sugar the phone began ringing, picking it up she was thankful to hear a cheery voice

'hey hun, I tried ringing earlier and I tried your cell, were you out?' April asked

'oh no Ape I kinda fell asleep' she responded

'what's wrong, you sound down'

'oh you know I just went and completely made a tit of myself to Ryan' she sighed

'Surely it wasn't that bad?' she asked her curiosity now peaked

'oh, I dunno, I'd call kissing him, and him standing there shocked and then tried to start babbling some excuse or apology pretty bad' without thinking she let out a slight giggle when she herd April start to laugh

'Emery that could only happen to you, come on what was his excuse or apology?'

'I think that's what im more embarrassed about I just ran' she laughed again holding her head in her free hand as her curls fell forward at the movement 'I literally ran, Ape, I didn't even hear out what he had to say. Then to top it all off I came home to find dad talking to Jax and Opie about how he wanted to beat the shit out of the Rita and Rodrigo and I just flipped at him, so im embarrassed and feel like an assole' hearing April chuckling on the other end of line she just smiled 'it's not funny April!'

'Oh yeah? Then why are you laughing?' she breathed through laughing 'look it's not the end of the world, your dads probably already over it and you just need to talk to Ryan, it's a small friendship circle, your defo gonna run in to him. Like all the time Em'

'yeah I know, I know its just frustrating, and I think I'll give the avoiding him at all costs a try first. Anyway why were you calling, not that I don't enjoy listening to you laugh at my expense' she teased her blonde friend

'well I've spoken to Donna and we were thinking we could go grab pizza or something after school tomorrow?' she asked

'yeah sure I'm in'

After April had finished filling her in on the gossip at school and Emery had helped her with her Spanish homework she'd made a lasagne with salad and left some in the fridge for when her father got home. 10 o'clock soon came around without no sign of her father, beginning to worry she decided to call Clay feeling slightly relieved when he answered

'hey Clay it's Em, I was just wondering if you knew where my pa is? He still hasn't come home'

'oh hey baby girl, erm were just tryna sort out some things, hopefully he'll be back soon' he sounded distant and hesitant, obviously something was wrong

'hopefully? What do you mean hopefully? Is something wrong?' she replied starting to stress at Clays underlying words

'listen, don't stress, but I need to go I'll send Jax or Ryan round later to fill you in'

'no, I'm coming round ' she began putting on her boots and Jacket,

'no look it'll get sorted beside you can't get here, you're not walking this late at night, I mean it Emery stay at home' knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere with Clay she just agreed and put the phone down, picking up her bag and putting it over her head so it came across her body she picked up her keys and began her journey to the clubhouse. Normally if she was walking somewhere she'd have her head phones in but walking in the dark made her not want to make herself deaf to anything that might be coming her way. The usual journey to the clubhouse seemed to be taking forever even though she was practically running through the streets. Finally bursting through the doors to the clubhouse it was almost like gate crashing a funeral with the expression's shown on everyone's face, 'what is it? What's wrong' she panted before being grabbed not to gently by the arm by Clay who had begun dragging her towards the chapel, whispering angrily about the fact that she'd disobeyed him. Firmly planting her feet on the floor she wrenched her arm from his grip causing him to turn wide eyed to her. 'where's my dad Clay?' she said voice deadly causing Jax to step towards her fearing that she'd say something which would cause a volatile reaction from Clay, he knew Clay would never hit Emery he wasn't however so sure that when she heard the news, that Emery would refrain herself from hitting Clay which would end very badly. Gemma had also stepped forward, if it came down to it Jax was very sure that his ma would back Clay, she loved Emery but she was his old lady she had to back him, especially in public.

'I'm here angel' feeling herself relax slightly at the sound of her father's voice, though seeing the expression plastered on his face and the bruise's that covered it she couldn't help feeling anxious as she ran to him pulling him into a hug.

'what happened?' she practically whispered, touching a delicate hand softly to each bruise until he stepped back from her, moving her hands from his face,

'I didn't wanna say nothin until we knew what was happening?' his voice was flat and unemotional she didn't like it, it was wrong, looking around it was all wrong, the clubhouse only held happy and funny memories for her, never had she seen these expressions placed upon her family's face when gathered here. A knock on the front door made every head turn, she didn't miss the fact her dad took a deep breath and straightened himself as Clay went to answer it giving Emery the stink eye as he passed her, making her have to fight the extremely immature urge of not sticking her tongue out at him. She heard voices which then became raised as officers stormed into the room grabbing for Tig who acted like he didn't give a shit and that it didn't affect him at all, she heard a tall black haired officer read him his rights and say that he was arrested for aggravated assault. Inside she was numb, and without even realising it that wall she had made, that she had hidden behind for months came crumbling down around her, as her tears escaped her whilst she called for her dad and went to him holding on to his cuffed hands trying desperately to keep a grip as though she was 6 years old again.

Jax watched her as she broke, crying and gripping onto her father's bound hands as he tried to shh her and tell her that everything was gonna be alright, but it wasn't and Jax knew that, the fact that Tig was being arrested wasn't that bad a thing or really that big a deal, knowing most of the things Tig had ever done he was lucky to only being locked up for aggravated assault, with Richard on the case he'll probably get two years max hopefully less. No that wasn't the issue the issue was that the Sons didn't really have any allies on the inside they had no protection. Tig had no protection. Not being able to handle seeing his Red this way he made his way to her, and put his arms around her to try and pry her off of her father 'come on Emery, you've gotta let him go. we'll figure something out I promise' and he would, he'd handle it, he'd sort something out maybe with the Niner's, or as a last resort the Mayans though he really didn't see that happening anytime soon the Niner's were definitely his best option. Tig had known that he'd be getting arrested and had made the whole club promise one thing and that was that Emery wasn't to know that he'd have no protection inside. Otto had told him it was a bad idea, that Emery was smart and intuitive and he was right and that's why Jax had to do something and quick, he'd already enlisted Opie to help him, his next step would be Ryan and Juice.

Once she'd been pulled away from her father and he had left in the back of the police car she wiped her tears and calmly asked what had happened, they'd told her there was an issue with Darby again and that the police had turned up when Tig had a gun to a badly beaten Darby's head who was knelt on the floor in pretty bad shape, there was no way to avoid him being arrested, Darby had set them up and for the first time in her life she felt real anger, not the same she'd ever felt with Rita or the Mayan's, Darby in some way shape or form had taken her father from her and for that he was gonna pay, that she was sure of. After everyone had had a couple of drinks and she had come to terms with the fact that her dad wasn't going to be coming home anytime soon, and like everything else that was thrown at them she just had to deal with it.

'okay, im gonna go home, there's nothing I can do for him other than wait and carry on' she sighed 'can you let me know what happens with Richard Clay? And please make sure you get me visitation' he just simply nodded at her giving her a hug

'I'll give you a lift back' Ryan's voice called towards her, she hadn't even noticed that he had been there sitting at the bar with Juice, pretty much as soon as her eyes met his she looked away

'It's okay, I can walk' she replied not looking at him

'That's not gonna happen' Jax drawled coming towards her 'Ry don't mind, do you Ry?' Jax asked and she knew he knew something was up and this was his way of clarifying it

'Wouldn't have said it if I didn't' Ryan's deep voice reached her

'Jax, you mind taking me? I wanna talk to you about something anyway' she didn't look at Ryan but Jax did and he didn't miss the hurt expression that crossed his face,

'sure, let's go' he guided her to the door. To say she wanted to talk was bullshit and he knew it she just wanted to get away from Ryan but why? Had he hurt her? He'd kill him if he had. She didn't talk for the whole journey back she didn't even speak when she let him into the house,

'Okay Red put me out of my misery what's up with you and Ry? Did he hurt you?' he asked as she handed him a beer

'nothing I just wanted to be able to spend some time with my best friend, that okay with you Teller?' she smiled at him and to be honest, he practically forgot about it just seeing her smile was a sight especially since she'd been pretty miserable and hardly smiled since her beating from Rita.

The final verdict for her father was that he'd be jailed for 18 months but would be out in 15 for good behaviour, though she wasn't gonna hold her breath for that. Sitting on her bed doing homework on her laptop, she didn't hear someone creep in until Chibs' Scottish accent rag out, 'hey lassie' he smiled at her, she smiled back, her life had gotten back to normal pretty much although it was still early days she went to see her dad once a week, he'd been inside now for a month, he'd seemed okay apart from the odd bruises and cuts that constantly appeared, Clay had promised her that he had protection inside and that him getting into a few fight's was normal.

'hey Chibby, just give me a sec and I'll be ready' she beamed to him

'okay, I'll be downstairs' she nodded at him as he turned and walked downstairs. Finishing her assignment, she stood and stretched before walking over to her drawers and pulling out some skinny grey jeans that sat at her hip, she'd changed into sweat pants and a tank top once she'd got back from school, putting on a thin white vest top, she slipped a shear white flowing top over it which ended just below her hip, and pulled on some black heeled boots, tucking her throwing knife into them and grabbing her bag she made her way downstairs.

Ryan parked his bike up at the clubhouse, and turned when he heard the roar of another bike, it was Chibs and riding bitch was Emery, sighing he began making his way into the clubhouse, it didn't take a genius to realise that she was avoiding him, she avoided him at school, she avoided the clubhouse when she knew he was here, all he wanted was to talk to her, to apologise but he couldn't even get close, he'd tried talking to her and she just answered him simply yes or no in front of others or if they were alone she'd make an excuse and leave. He knew she hadn't talked to any of the sons about it because he still had his head. Gemma had started having family dinners more often and he knew it was Gemma's way of checking in on Em without her knowing at least that's what Gemma thought but he knew Em was smart she would have smelt it out a mile away. He couldn't help but watch her, he didn't know what it was about her that he was so drawn too, they were completely different people, she was kind and good natured hell she wanted to be a doctor, he was cruel and heartless, he was a criminal, not that he minded, he loved this life, it was what he was built for, he was built to be a man of mayhem.

She could feel his eyes on her, each time she had to fight to not lock eyes with the brown haired green eyed boy, and if she was being completely honest with herself she missed him, she knew she would but it wasn't the same. Her attention was pulled from the meal when the phone rang, she got up to answer it, hearing the voice on the other end say it was a call from Stockton she began feeling slightly anxious, she said that she accepted the call, hearing the voice on the other side she really just wanted to block it out, her dad had been badly beaten by some blacks, which left her confused since Clay had said her dad had protection from the blacks, she passed the phone on to Jax when he approached her and she walked outside to make a call of her own. If Clay wasn't gonna guarantee her father's protection, then she'd secure it herself, she knew how the game was played, only now it was time for her to start playing it.


	10. Chapter 10

**_Thank you for the like's, fav's and review's. I'm happy you guys are enjoying it :) disclosure- anything you recognise from SOA is Sutter's everything else is mine._**

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 ** _Chapter 10-Skates or No Skates?_**

'thanks for coming to get me' Emery thanked her dark eyed blonde friend as she sat in the passenger seat of her car, April had recently passed her driver's ed and could now drive and being daddy's little princess got a car straight away, Emery still had to do her test then she'd start looking for a car though she couldn't wait till she could get a bike instead.

'you gonna tell me what's going on?' April asked curious by her best friend's sudden determination,

'I need you to try and find out what's happening with my pa. He was beaten pretty bad, Clay swore to me he had protection but I have a feeling he was lying to me. Ape you can't let on to your dad that I'm asking questions, I'm not a club member they won't like me sniffing around' April could only nod along to her friends wishes, truth be told the club scared her shitless, sure she knew they were fairly nice people, well the majority but Clay terrified her and going behind his back put her straight in the firing line along with Emery if they were found out, but her friend needed her and Emery had always been there for her, she fought her battles throughout school and she was always there when she was sad or when she wanted to moan about her parents, she'd do this for Emery it was the least she could do, she didn't want to see her best friend without a father as well as a mother and she'd never forgive herself if she could have done something to help her and Tig. 'okay I'll do some snooping, I'll ring you as soon as I hear anything' Emery nodded as she hugged her friend and went to get out of the car.

She was almost out of the car when Aprils hand gripped her arm 'you're not gonna do nothing stupid right Em?' looking in to her friends scared eyes she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt should she lie and say she just wants to know what's going on or should she tell her friend what she truly intends to do? Trying to hide her conflict she leaned forward and kissed her best friend on the head

'I have to help my pa Ape. I know he's done some bad shit, but he isn't a bad man' she shook her head 'I can't lose him'

'I just hope you know what you're doing, because I can't lose you, you silly cow' she smiled at her red headed friend, her hair tonight was unusually straight making it longer than usual though it was tied up into a high pony tail, she pulled on the end of it as her friend smiled back, 'I've got your back with this okay. I mean it anything you need, I'm here'

'Thanks' Ape, night' and with that she stepped out of the car and watched as her friend drove away. Unlocking the door and turning on the living room light to her house, she took a deep breath, could she do this? And if she did what would it mean? Could she do this without hurting anyone? Well there was one person she was gonna hurt, but she had to wait now, this was priority, she'd get to Darby but she was gonna have to wait and be patient, one thing at a time. First thing was first she had to find her father some protection inside, the Niner's would probably be an easier option, but she didn't have any contacts among them, she had no way to get to them to even talk to them without the sons finding out, not only that she had no leverage. Opening up her laptop she began doing some research. Hours passed and she was just about ripping her hair out with frustration, hearing the door knock she pick up the gun that was sat on the coffee table and tucked it into the back of her jeans keeping one hand braced on it she made her way to the door, since her dad had been jailed she'd become slightly more paranoid when answering the door probably because she knew that if it was an enemy or it was someone wanting to hurt her she was on her own no one was here or was coming home at any point that could help her.

She could hear her heart slamming against her chest she peeked through the peephole to find a very nervous looking April on her door step, letting out a shaky sigh of relief she shook her head and smiled as she dropped her hand from the gun and let her friend in. 'you shit me up Ape. It's like 11:30 what are you doing here?' although deep down she knew it had to be bad if she'd came over instead of just calling

'well, I did some digging, then I felt guilty for lying to my dad, then my mum kept asking me why I was quiet, but I couldn't just come out and say oh sorry mom I'm completely freaking out because I've been snooping around on dads stuff but hey I'm sure he won't mind, not only that I'm pretty sure my best friend is about to walk into a total shit storm, but yeah sure, pass the mash please' she took a deep breath as Emery looked to her, her eyes wide,

'wow, so your freaking out, like big tim-' she

'yes im freaking the fuck out Emery, point out the obvious why don't you, do you have any idea how guilty I feel, I was trying to find you some stuff but I couldn't get into his office so I hacked his computer and read some of his email's, then I listened in on some of his calls and oh my god I am a terrible daughter' she began rubbing her face

'here, take this' Emery handed her a shot of her dads whiskey and walked over to the fridge to get two beers, 'I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked' and it was true she shouldn't have, she shouldn't have dragged someone so innocent into this, she was making her best friend practically spy on her father god she was a shitty friend, but April was her only way of finding out the information she needed since her father was the Sons lawyer, 'I didn't know you could hack stuff' she asked genuinely curious the shot having calmed April, she'd become her regular self and had stopped anxiously pacing Emery's living room as she sipped her beer

'you never asked' the dark eyed girl shrugged taking a seat on the sofa and getting some papers out of her bag along with her laptop, 'why do you think me and Juice get on so well, we have something in common' she spreaded the paper's out across the coffee table as Emery moved her laptop, 'anyway, you're not gonna like this but I did find out some stuff, turns out the Niner's were never providing your dad with protection, my dad tried to keep him in protective custody for as long as he could, but that only lasted the first week, soon after your dad went into gen pop he was stabbed by one of the Nord's' she could see the panic creeping into Emery's gaze 'but. Don't worry he's fine, that kept him in medical for another two weeks so he could heal properly, he's been keeping his head down since then, but apparently according to one of dad's emails, Clay got some information that the nords were planning another attack on him but this time they weren't planning on failing to kill him, so your dad got into a fight so that he would go into max so that he'd be kept away from gen pop and from harm, which is all well and good but if he keeps fighting so that he's put in there they'll up his sentence to two years and maybe even more, I'm so sorry Em' she took a deep breath feeling a little better at the fact that she'd got it off her chest.

She didn't know what to do, what to say, or even what to think, taking a breath she poured herself a shot of whiskey, her face scrunching up from the taste of it 'shit' was all she could say, what else could she say? This was shit, how the hell was she gonna get them out of this one? April watched her friend as she saw many different emotions flash through her face, hurt, sadness, anger, determination, she watched as her friend's eyes clouded over and tears brimmed them, then Emery simply took a deep breath and ran her fingers under her eyes, making her tears go away, 'it's okay to be upset Em, it's okay to cry' she held onto her friends delicate hand,

'crying isn't going to make anything better and it definitely isn't gonna help my pa' she spoke back voice flat 'you staying tonight?'

'no I promised mom I'd be home, she was a bit shocked at me coming out so late, are you gonna be okay on your own tonight? Do you want me to call Opie or Jax?' she asked as they made their way to the front door,

'yeah I'll be fine. You need to stop worrying about me' she gave April a pointed look

'oh, I forgot, do you think you could keep these papers and copy's here? Dad would absolutely screw if he sees them' she handed the copy's to Emery who just nodded in response 'See you tomorrow I'll pick you up at quarter past 8' she hugged her friend goodbye before going on her way. Once Emery had showered and had blow dried her hair she put on one of Opie's t-shirts she had stolen when they were younger and climbed into bed snuggling up with Tiberius, and for the first time in a while she felt completely and utterly alone, she waited for sleep to come but instead her mind raced through what she needed to do tomorrow and she wouldn't exactly say that she was particularly looking forward to, also tomorrow she needed to find a job, she'd seen an ad for a waitress in a local diner, it would mainly be night work which would suit her since she had school during the day. Tomorrow would be an interesting day and hopefully it would all go to plan and then she'd be one step closer to helping her father.

As Emery sat in her friend's car, she couldn't help but notice her staring 'spit it out Ape' she asked

'you, erm look different, did you get any sleep at all last night?' she ask hesitant. Emery couldn't help but laugh, 'no, not really, was up all night thinking about dad, then I just couldn't be assed with make-up and looking through my wardrobe, do I really look that bad?' her hair was still straight but was down she hadn't been bothered to wash it and had thought one more day would do, she had practically no make-up on, only wearing powder in an attempt to prevent herself looking ill, she was sporting her favourite comfy long beige knitted jumper that hung off one shoulder and reached just above the knees, she was wearing black leggings and in an attempt to look her usual self she had on brown knee high heeled boots,

'not at all it's just your wearing leggings and a jumper, that's normally only reserved for home or the clubhouse, love the boots though' she grinned at her tired friend, nobody else would probably have battered an eye at what Emery was wearing, it was a casual look many would wear to school but she knew her better than that, she rarely wore leggings they were a comfy only to Emery, plus the girl pretty much washed her hair every day, that was something April found a little strange in all honesty though. Hearing Emery laugh she was glad to have put a smile on her friends face 'so what's the plan today?' she asked trying to sound nonchalant,

'the plan, my dear friend is that you're going to go about your normal business for the day and I'm gonna have a chat with Jax, the way that goes will determine what happens next' she informed her friend giving her a pointed look that said don't even try and go against it

'Because that's not ominous at all' April muttered under her breath as Emery rolled her eyes. Emery remained quiet restless throughout her morning lessons as they left her contemplating why time always went so slow when there was something more important that demanded her attention, she needed to talk to Jax she needed to understand some things before going following through on her plan, a plan which was time sensitive and meant she needed a little bit of luck on her side. Finally making it to the canteen she spotted the blonde whom she needed urgent words with, making her way over to him she made eye contact with Rita Alverez who naturally cut her a filthy look, Emery hoping to play up to her gave her the snottiest look she could muster and flicked her hair back, whilst continuing her route to her usual table surrounded by her friends. Jax gave her a smile as she reached him, slinging his arm around her shoulders, whilst Tara unbeknown to them gave them both daggers. Noticing that April seemed to be in a deep conversation with Ryan her curiosity spiked though she knew she didn't have time to press it now, turning to Jax she whispered to him that she needed to talk to him in private.

'Sup Red?' he asked as they stood in a quiet corridor,

'Why do the Mayans hate Samcro so much, like what's the beef even over?' she asked hoping she sounded innocent,

'we stomped out their drug trade in Charming for one thing, then we forced some nearby crew's not to deal with them in Oakland, they were seriously pissed when we made the Hammonds drop the deal they had with them' he peered at her closely, 'why you asking? Rita giving you more shit?'

'Isn't she always? Just curious to know that's all' she responded deep in thought

'Curious to know? Why? What are you up to Em?' shit she'd made him suspicious

'Do you trust me Jax?' she asked him honestly

'what the hell kinda questions that?' he asked defensive as she just gave him a look telling him to just answer the question, 'of course I trust you Red, what are you up to?' he asked curious and a little concerned

'nothing I'll fil you in later. Come on the guys will be looking for us' walking back into the canteen she told Jax to carry on at the table whilst she got a drink. April studied her friend as Jax left her, something was gonna happen she could see the look of determination on her face still she sat shocked when she witnessed her usually calm friends actions.

Really not wanting to do this but knowing there wasn't really another option, she took a deep breath and fixed her face making her way to a table she usually avoided, looking around to be sure she'd claimed the attention of many of the teachers around her she stormed up to the tanned girl who stood to her feet as Emery approached, without even giving the girl time to pass a comment on anything, she punched her in the face causing her to stagger backwards as people around stood shocked, the darker girl then slammed her fist into Emery's stomach, making Emery hunch forward whilst straightening back up she reached for Rita's food tray, tipping its contents out on the table and lifting the tray high, smacking it across the girls head, causing her to scream out and desperately start trying to claw at Emery as they were dragged away from each other by the teachers, the teachers shouting that they'd both be in detention after school. Emery couldn't help but smirk a little as Rita fumed at her.

He didn't get it, she was cleverer than that, than to just start a fight in public and with teachers around, plus Rita should never have got that punch in, Emery was a fairly good fighter, the punch should never have got through her defence, she let Rita hit her but why? Looking around he could see April looked shocked but shifty if he had to guess he'd say the girls were definitely up to something, looking at Opie he knew he was thinking exactly the same. They needed to have a little chat with the petite red head. Deciding to skip his next lesson Jax waited outside Emery's classroom, grabbing her by the arm and leading her away to the boys bathroom checking it was empty as they walked in, 'what the hell Em?' he half whispered to her though his anger was plain to see in his blue eyes,

'nothing, just had to handle something' she shrugged, looking down, causing Jax to step forward so that her back was to the wall and Jax's body was firmly pressed against hers, he moved her head up so she was facing him.

'I mean it, Em what are you up to, you'd never do that, not in public, and you don't like fighting, this has something to do with what I asked you earlier doesn't it?' he asked voice husky, she hated lying to him, but she didn't know how far he was in Clay's pocket, would he tell Clay on her if he knew what she was planning?

'Jax please, can't you just trust me' she pleaded him,

'I do trust you, I trust you know what you're doing, what I don't trust is that you won't back down even if it means you getting hurt, that I don't trust' she huffed at him and he couldn't help but realise just how close he really was to her, his body was practically pressed against her's, and that was when he realised he could feel her chest pressing into him, fighting desperately to forget about it to prevent embarrassing himself he instead decided to try and push her for more information. 'This got something to do with what happened with your pa?' he asked eyebrow raised

'I know he isn't protected Jax, at least he isn't any more otherwise he wouldn't have gotten into that fight, he was keeping his head down'

'how do you know he got himself into that fight? Or that your dad was keeping his head down?' he asked since he was pretty sure nobody had mentioned that Tig had started the fight to her

'the operator that called told me he started it and dad told me he was keeping his head down when I last saw him' she was slightly amazed at how easily she'd managed to lie, normally she couldn't lie about anything, normally she sucked at it, especially to Jax, though he gave her a sceptical look he stepped away from her releasing her from being stuck against the wall,

'I still don't like it your hiding something from me, I'll pick you up after your detention tonight okay and you better have some answers for me Red he nuggied her before leaving as she took a deep breath and walked out of the toilet's to the judgy faces that surrounded her, feeling slightly embarrassed since she could imagine what they would think had happened in the toilet.

As she sat in her final lesson her legs just wouldn't stay still, she was impatient and she couldn't wait to get to detention, after what felt like an age Emery was speed walking down the corridors towards the library which was where she was told her detention would be taking place. Walking in it was just Rita and herself in detention with one teacher keeping watch. They'd been given a huge pile of book's to sort back onto the shelves, Emery, grateful for the opportunity to get Rita alone, walked onto Rita's isle, which was out of hearing distance from the teacher, she realised the rival girl was about to start shouting at her, moving forwards as quick as she could she put one hand over Rita's mouth backing her against one of the shelves,

'I don't want to fight or argue, I need you to hear me out okay?' she whispered thankful that the girl must be listening since she wasn't fighting back 'I'm gonna move my hand just hear me out okay?' she asked again, after giving Emery a curious glance she nodded her head, and straightened herself when Emery removed her hand and stepped away.

'what do you want puta?' she snarled

'back off Rita, I'm not here to give you shit' she replied curtly

'funny you punching me in the jaw, and smacking me round the head with a fucking tray didn't really give me the I just wanna talk vibe'

'yeah I know' Emery rubbed the back of her neck guiltily 'I just needed to get you on your own, you would never have listened to me if I came up to you so I had to get you alone'

'you're a very strange girl Trager, what did you want?'

'I need you to set a meeting up for me, I wanna meet your father, just you and him and just me and Clay' she asked

'why in the hell would I do that? More to the point why the hell would my padre even agree to it?'

'because I'm gonna talk to Clay about a proposition that would really benefit your dads business'

'you don't know shit about my dad's business' the Spanish girl spat

'I know he's in the drug trade and he wants his deal with the Hammonds back' she bluffed, internally cheering when the other girls eyes widened 'I'll take that as a confirmation'

'why would you broker a deal? What's in it for you?'

'all I want in return is protection for my father for the duration of his time inside, and I want whatever shits between us done, I'm sick of fighting, I beat you and you got me back pretty good now were even' Rita found it strange, she knew Emery Trager was strong, just as she was, they had to be, being female in this environment, but what she didn't know was that Emery was involved in the Sons club business, she was involved in her father's but she'd had to fight tooth and nail to get there she didn't really see Clay letting a girl be a member of the cut, but maybe she was wrong, the white girl was obviously very tactical she could safely say she'd never be this girls friend but for now her father's club could really use an ally and she knew just as much as her father and brother wished to deny it that Samcro would be an extremely strong ally to have.

'I'll speak to my padre, you got a number I can ring?, then we'll set a date, time and place'

'the place is on Samcro terms, I'll make sure it's pretty in the middle of territories, you have my word' Emery gave her a honest look as she wrote her number along the girls arm,

'Somehow I don't think your word means shit Trager, but I'll be in touch'

After their conversation they continued their respective jobs then Emery went outside to be greeted by a moody looking Jax, looking around she could see that Rodrigo was here for Rita,

'hello chica' he cooed at Emery causing Jax to rise from his bike, Emery just simply gave him a false smile and climbed onto the back of Jax's bike, putting on the helmet, behind Rodrigo Rita simply nodded her head towards Emery then her and Jax were on their way, that went better than she thought, now she just had to convince Clay this was a good idea, and without him knowing that April and her had been snooping around Richards files. Taking a deep breath she readied herself for the next step but in all honesty she just wanted it to be over and for her father to be safe. However she had one more thing to sort out today.

Using Jax's shoulders for balance she swung her leg over and got off the bike, taking off her helmet she hung it on one of the handlebar's she turned to face Jax,

'so you gonna tell me what went on with Rita?' he asked as he took his gloves off stepping away from his bike he tucked them into his back pocket,

'not really' she muttered looking up at the diner in front of her, then she took out her mirror and started applying a little mascara to her face which only consisted of powder, then she tied her hair up into a high messy ponytail, looking up she saw the stern look plastered onto Jax's face, 'look, I'll tell you about it later, its….complicated'

'speaking of complicated, what's with the whole wanting a job thing?' he nodded towards the place named Bobby's Diner which was well known in town, April and Emery used to go in quite often after school and still do really, although she didn't wanna admit it she was kind of relying on the fact that she knew Bobby well, so hopefully he'd be more inclined to give her the job,

'seriously a retro diner? Are they gonna make you wear skates cos I really don't see that working out well for you Red' she couldn't help but chuckle at him,

'my dad's in jail Jax, he's not exactly earning' she answered him 'and before you say anything no I'm not gonna go crying to the club about it'

'you wouldn't be crying to the club Red your family, part of Samcro' he began before she rolled her eyes at him,

'speaking of Samcro, will you wait out here, or at least come in five minutes after me?' she asked,

'you embarrassed of me Red?' he smirked at her 'cos you know there's loads of girls that would love to be seen with me' he winked at her causing her to giggle,

'no I'm not embarrassed of you Teller, but I wanna get this job of my own back not because Bobby's scared you'll kick the crap out of him if he doesn't employ me' she confided

'Em it's a diner' he chuckled,

'You're really missing the point here' she muttered to him,

'okay okay, I'm sorry, I'll wait right here. you go get your skates on' he held his hands up in mock surrender, giving him the finger and shaking her head, she went into the diner. Around 20 minutes later she emerged from the diner with a massive grin spread across her face, carrying a uniform, he couldn't help but smile at her though he didn't understand why she'd want to get a job he was glad she was happy, he couldn't help the guilt he felt at the thought of her finding out the situation her dad was in, 'you get the job?' he called though the answer was pretty obvious, she beamed at him

'yep, starting next week and guess what' he just lifted his head at her, meaning for her to go on 'no skates' she laughed at him as he picked her up and swung her round before placing her on the ground, 'why are you so happy Teller after all its just a diner' she mocked him

'I just can't wait to see the uniform' he winked at her as she slapped him, after she'd tucked her new uniform into the side saddle bag of Jax's Harley and waving to Bobby as he was taking the help wanted sign down, they were on their way to the clubhouse, which wasn't too far away from the diner and the impending conversation she needed to have with Clay was creeping upon her making her once happy mood become more and more nervous, so she pressed her face into Jax's broad back and tried to think rationally.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Sorry for the delay, this is a long chapter please review and let me know what you think :)_**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 11- Enter the Niner's_**

Walking into the clubhouse she couldn't help but feel nervous, after greeting everyone and managing to avoid Ryan yet again, she made her way over to Clay,  
'hey uncle Clay, can I have a word?' he just nodded his head in response but made no move to separate from the group, 'in private, if you don't mind?' she asked again hoping he would get the hint, as she could see the other members looking at her curiously, Clay turned his dull blue eyes to her and nodded, walking off in the direction of the room they used for church.  
Once she shut the door behind her, she turned to face the Samcro president as he sat in his seat at the head of the table, 'Jesus Em I don't bite, you can take a seat' he chuckled to her as he lit a cigar.  
'sorry it's just I've never been in here before' she took the seat on Clays right and without really thinking she reached forwards to run her hand along the engraved sons of anarchy reaper in the centre of the table 'it's beautiful' she muttered to herself.

Looking at the young girl Clay couldn't help but notice at how well she fit, she really did fit at this table and she'd unknowingly chosen her father's chair. He couldn't help but hope that she and Jax would become something more than just friends, she'd be the perfect old lady, she was tough and feisty, she had club values and knew what it was about, but she was also fair and kind, something that wasn't normally associated with the club. Though deep down he couldn't help but feel slightly threatened by it, she could either be great for the club or she could change it entirely, she had Tig's temper, and his fight in her but she had so much of her mother in her, her kindness and warmth, something which he prayed this club wouldn't smother, she was the clubs light, especially to Jax and Opie. Jax would soon be vice president when he patched in and to be completely honest Clay couldn't deny him it and he knew the other's wouldn't either, Jax was pretty much acting like a VP already rather than a prospect, he did what was necessary for the family and he always came up with brilliant ways to get them out of shit. But looking at Tig's flesh and blood before him, he knew she had what it took, she could fight, she was brave, braver than she thought, she acted on instinct and when she did, christ she was a sight to behold, she had the fire in her that Gemma did, but she wasn't as threatening to the eye, she would have made a brilliant member, she would have easily patched in, if she wasn't a girl.

'so I had a talk with Rita' she looked up to judge his reaction, though he'd looked far away until she'd spoken now he looked interested

'and why would you be talking with Alverez's kid? Thought all you two did was beat the shit out of each other?' he asked a little sarcastic

'well yeah we do, but erm after the phone call I got the other day from the prison I gathered my Pa wasn't getting protection inside anymore and I sort of asked Rita to set up a meeting with her dad and yourself, and that me and her be there for the meeting, to make a deal with the Mayan's to give Pa some protection' she'd got nervous as his eyes bored into hers, causing her to fidget with the sleeves of her jumper in her lap,

'you did what?!' he bellowed as his fist slammed down on the table, oh shit, oh fuck he was angry, she hadn't prepared herself for this, I mean sure it was a possibility but she at least thought he'd hear her out properly before he went off on one, oh hell she was in deep deep do do. 'what gave you the fucking right to put yourself into club business?' He demanded

'Since it's my dad that's in there unprotected' she snapped back feeling her anger boil, so this would be it, he wasn't even gonna hear her out 'if you'd just hear me ou-' she began in a calmer voice before being cut off

'That does NOT give you the right to get involved and start making arrangements for a god damn meeting, I don't give a shit who's inside, I am president of this club and you shouldn't be saying or doing shit, you're not even an old lady, your just a fucking kid!' he continued ripping her a complete new one, she had noticed that the noise outside of the room had stopped, and that no doubt everyone out there could hear the bollocking she was receiving from the president. 'you wanna beat on Rita I don't give a shit, the Mayan's started the violence between the clubs, but for you to start making arrangements that's bullshit Emery' he continued

'so what am I supposed to do Clay? Just sit at home and wait for the news that my dad was stabbed to death? and then what do I do just get on with my life? You say Samcro take care of their own but my dad seems to be completely on his own right now, and he's only in there because he was protecting _this_ family, does that not mean shit to you?' she shouted back, taking in the shocked look that came to Clays face, she was surprised he hadn't beat her, no one talked to Clay like this even she knew that, she was walking on very, very thin ice, 'I just want to keep him safe Clay' she spoke her voice slightly softer

'and I'll handle it, I'll get him protection I just need some time' he replied his voice still in its shouty stage,

'my dad doesn't have time Clay, just meet with Alverez, I told Rita that we'd pick the place but it has to be neutral ground and only her, her father, you and I go no one else, please' she was pretty much begging now,

'and say what when we get there? I have nothing to give the Mayan's that will make them protect your pa' he said seemingly quite calm, this was better they were actually discussing things rather than shouting at each other getting nowhere fast.

'there is one thing they'd probably trade protection for' he looked to her as his interest peaked 'the Hammond's deal' she said internally clenching up waiting for the tongue lashing to begin again instead he just stood, without thinking she stood up too,

'I need to call church, you stay there' he pointed a finger to her and she sat, holding her head down, hoping and praying she wasn't gonna be made an example of to the club members.

As the club members started filing in she noticed that Otto sat next to Clay on his left, then there was Bobby, then sat Lenny the pimp whom she rarely saw, Chibs took the seat next her and took hold of one of her hands which had gone back to playing with the sleeve of her jumper, she looked up to him giving him a tight smile as he squeezed her hand but didn't let go, next to him sat Happy, with Piney sitting at the opposite end of the table to Clay, behind Bobby and Otto, Jax and Opie stood against the wall, as she felt Juice and Ryan stand behind Chibs and Piney, she was guessing that since they were only prospect's they couldn't sit at the table, and presumably they couldn't vote, so why the hell was she still sat at the table?.

'church is in session, Emery has took it upon herself to get Rita to set up a meet with Alverez' looking around the members didn't look that shocked, since she'd gathered they'd probably been listening in she wasn't that surprised however the worried glances Jax kept throwing her way had pretty much set her on edge, now she was really worried. 'she thinks we should give them back the Hammond deal in exchange for protection for Tig whilst he's inside' everyone threw glances to each other, she notice Jax raise his eyebrow and nod at Opie who was whispering something to him, 'any ideas?' Clay asked out to the group, now being surrounded by all of the group she felt hesitant to speak up and decided she keep her trap shut until a good moment presented itself,

'I think it's a pretty good idea myself' Otto piped up, she felt a little proud as Otta held up his cigarette in a cheers sort of way, she'd won the VP over surely that meant something people!

'only problem is, we'll be upping their drug trade, won't be long till they start pushing it into Charming again and we've got enough of that shit with the Nord's' Bobby weighed in, that's it she thought, piss on my bonfire you curly haired ass,

'but we could make it part of the agreement, I mean, we could say that they can't deal in Charming, and any deals going down will be dealt with by the club' she hadn't even realised she'd spoken until all heads turned to her,

'yeah, but then that's still more shit on our plate to deal with Em' Bobby piped up again

'Tig's your brother, is his life not important enough that for him to keep hold of it you'll have to beat up some punk kids making shitty drug deals?' She fired back watching as guilt filled Bobby's face, she loved Bobby but right now he was sitting between her and her dads protection and she wasn't about to let it slide, even if she had to play the brother card,

'Jax you'll be the new VP soon what do you think?' Otto asked sensing the tension that now filled the room Emery was right of course but he could tell some of the lads didn't like the fact that this good idea had come from a 16 year old girl, personally he thought fair play to the girl, she obviously had balls. He knew he was just filling in the role of VP until Jax patched in and claimed it, it was an agreement he and Clay had made, the club couldn't not be seen to have a VP so Otto said he'd fill in until Jax was ready and in all honesty he couldn't wait to hand over the responsibility.

'I think it's a good idea, I mean the only real problems were getting off the Mayans is retaliation for us putting an end to the deal, and of course the fights between the girls, I think it's reasonable we give it them back, but with conditions like Red said, that way we squash the beef with the Mayans's and possibly gain an ally since the Niner's are getting braver' he nodded in her direction,

'The fights between me and Rita will stop that's something we both agreed on' she spoke up defending her idea,

'okay we'll take a vote' Clay began 'all those in favour of meeting with Alverez and making a deal on the Hammond deal, but, with conditions?' beside her Chibs was the first to speak

'aye' he said then winked at Emery,

'yeah' Happy's deep husky voice rang out, he looked at Emery with a look she wasn't use to and she couldn't quite guess what it was, pride, expectation or smug as though he'd been right about something, around them, there were collective yeah's as everyone agreed to the idea, there had been another little argument when Emery insisted it was just her and Clay that met with Rita and her father, since Jax more so than anyone kept saying it wasn't safe for her and that maybe someone should go in her place no doubt he was thinking it should be him, but she firmly told them that it was her idea and that Rita would only deal with her which was a teeny tiny lie. After that church was called to an end and all that was left to do was to wait for the call.

* * *

She'd decided to stay at the clubhouse tonight, she was still waiting for Rita's call, since it was taking so long she could only assume that the tanned girl was having as hard a time getting her father to agree as she had Clay, getting up from the sofa where she'd been watching a film with Opie, she began to make her way to the toilet, only she didn't really get that far as she was dragged by her arm, into a dorm room, 'what the hell' she shouted but was shocked when she turn to see Ryan looking down at her,

'you were ignoring me, what else was I gonna do' he shrugged at her, she turned to walk out the door but he stretched his arm above her and shut it, although she put a lot of strength into trying to pry the door open, she couldn't budge him, so instead she turned to face him but was caught off guard when she realised how close he was to her, she didn't fail to catch the intake of breath he took when she turned.

'look Ryan, I shouldn't have kissed you okay, you made it quite clear, you didn't need to drag me in here to embarrass me again' she stood her ground though she couldn't keep the blush from creeping onto her face,

'I didn't mean to upset you, look if you'd just stuck around instead if running off' he could tell she was going to try to butt it so instead he raised his voice slightly and started talking over her, 'I would have said that I can't do that to you'

She was a little taken off guard, 'do what exactly?' now she was curious,

'I can't be with you Em, your dad wouldn't allow It and I doubt the others would be that happy about it' he looked down at her 'but I miss you, I miss us hanging out or whatever and I hate the fact your avoiding me, and I know you think you embarrassed yourself but you didn't' he was leaning towards her and she had an idea about what was going to happen, and in some way she found herself wanting it, wanting that connection between them, she raised her head slightly so that their lips were millimetres apart from each other and just when she thought she was finally close to feeling that jolt she'd felt the last time their lips had touched, her phone started going off, she could ignore it surely they'd ring back, but taking her phone out of her pocket the number that flashed across wasn't familiar which meant one thing

'it's Rita' she looked up eyes wide to Ryan and within seconds they were out in the clubhouse main room and Emery was shushing everyone before pressing answer.

Jax was talking with Chibs about what had happened in church, then he saw Emery and Ryan come running into the room exclaiming that it was Rita ringing and telling everyone to be quiet, he couldn't help but feel a little proud and although he wished she'd told him what she had been planning he couldn't help but noticed that in some ways she handle things like a son, she was ruthless in getting Rita alone, even going against her normal behaviour, he knew the others had picked up on it too, that she would do anything to protect this family, though going behind Clay's back wasn't the brightest idea she'd ever had, he knew that if she'd mentioned it to him first he wouldn't have heard her out since she wasn't nor would she be a member. But one thing he didn't know the answer too and didn't like was the fact that Ryan had come in with Emery, where had they been, and had they been together? Wait why did he care?

Opie couldn't help but watch Emery as she answered the phone, even though Rita couldn't see her through the phone, he noticed that she stood straighter and put on a hard face as though she was talking to Rita face to face, he sat back and watched as the phone conversation played out

'hello, yeah….tell me about it…..okay' Opie wondered if all things went well with the girls would they be friends? Surely Emery wouldn't see her as a friend, an ally maybe, but not a friend.

'no Rita that wasn't the deal..' he saw everyone's faces change Happy had his mean face on and Clay was leaning forward, probably wishing he could hear what was being said on the other side. He knew he wished he could

'the deal was, Samcro pick the place, I gave you my word it would be in a neutral place and fairly in the middle of territories…I don't give a damn about that…..okay, put your father on the phone'

Instantly Clay was asking for the phone as Emery just shook her head at him, Red was brave he'll give her that, but she was making Clay nervous and he prayed she didn't screw it up, but she wouldn't would she? After all her father depended on her success.

'Marcus, the meet will happen at the warehouses just outside of Charming….no that's not negotiable….okay, sure 11's fine….it'll just be Clay and me….oh and Alverez, We don't like surprises, so don't try and pull anything' with that she pressed the end call button and turned to face Clay her once confident stance fell, she was nervous about what Clay was gonna say,

'you handled that well, I assume everything's set?' he raised an eyebrow at her,

'we'll meet them at the warehouse you suggested, just me and you, but I'd keep a couple people close by I don't doubt the Alverez will come with more men than just him and Rita, but they'll need to stay out of sight, if we get there for 10 we could set ourselves up then we'd be able to see just how many of his men he brings' she took a deep breath.

' _You_ just remember whose president, when we get there I'll handle it, okay' he said firm but winked at her,

'sure thing, uncle Clay' she smiled and walked over to kiss his cheek whispering in his ear, 'thank you, for hearing me out' she smiled and walked off to her room to nap and pick out some suitable clothes for tonight. Whilst sitting on her bed April had called and Emery had filled her in on what was happening though she had sworn her to secrecy, after putting the phone down she lay down on her side on her bed closing her eyes hoping for a nap before the meet. She herd Jax's voice and opened her eyes she see him coming into her room shutting the door behind him, then he kicked off his shoes and pulled his hoodie off over his head, so he was just in a wife beater before laying down beside his friend.

'well I've gotta hand it to you Red you were pretty great' he winked at her as she rolled over to face him,

'would you think I was an idiot, if I told you I'm a little scared about the meet?' she asked him as he lifted his arm so that she could snuggle into his side and rest her head on his chest,

'nope, I'd think you were an idiot if you weren't worried bout it, but don't worry, me and Ope will be nearby we won't let nothing happen to you ight?, besides I'd be more worried about my ma getting jealous of you riding bitch on Clays bike' he nudged her playfully, as she slapped him in the stomach causing him to hunch forwards, 'not funny Teller' she laughed at him 'now shut up and let me nap'

Kissing her on the head he whispered in her ear 'I like it when you take charge' and even though she knew Jax was her friend she couldn't help but blush slightly. She woke to a knocking on her door, then Chibs walked in, 'come on lassie up and at it otherwise your gonna miss the meet' he raised his eyebrow at the sight of Jax snuggled into her side, she just shook her head at Chibs as he nodded smiling as he walked away, 'Jax get up were gonna be late' she nudged him, when glancing at the clock she jumped up making Jax jolt awake, 'shit, I've gotta get changed' without even thinking about the fact that Jax was in the room she lifted her jumper over head so that she was stood in her legging's and bra, she walked over to the chair she referred to as her dump chair and slipped on a black thin v-neck jumper, looking behind her to check Jax wasn't watching her she then changed out of her leggings into some black skinny high-waisted jeans and tucked the jumper into them, pulling on her black heeled boots, she finally turned to face Jax who had put his hoodie and his shoes back on, he walked over to her handing her, her throwing knife, 'you ready?' he asked

'as ready as I'm ever gonna be' she breathed as she took the knife and slipped it into her boot.

* * *

Stepping outside the clubhouse the club members were gathered around their bikes, Jax had stopped off at his room to pick up his gun which now sat tucked into the back of his jeans, reaching the group Clay held out a gun to her, 'just in case anything happens baby girl' she took the gun from him, checking the safety was on and slipped it into the back of her jeans as Jax had done, Chibs handed her, her leather jacket which she slipped on over the top, and Jax couldn't help but feel like she'd suit a cut instead, she ran her hand through her hair as she freed it from the leather jacket, her hair looking redder than it ever had against her all black outfit. He straddled his bike as Opie and the others got on theirs. Opie, Chibs and Jax were to stay close enough to be able to help if something happened but far enough away as to not be detected, the others would hold back unless they heard firing, he gave Emery a nod of his head and a small smile as she subconsciously fiddled with her mother's necklace, she then positioned herself on the back of Clays bike, then the Sons filed out of Teller-Morrow to meet with the Mayan's all the while Emery's heart beat fiercely in her chest.

The Sons pulled up on a small bank overlooking the warehouse, Emery looked around with squinted eyes as she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dim surrounding wood area, she could make out the outline of the rectangular warehouse, which had crates and metal containers spread out around it, she'd never been here before and she didn't really know the area that well either, Clay was talking over what would happen with the others as they all stood pretty much in a circle practically huddled together, it was cold tonight, unusually so, normally the cold wouldn't bother her but tonight she could see her breath as it left her mouth reminding her of younger years when Jax and Opie would pretend that they were smoking just like their parents as she would stand rolling her eyes at the pair, perhaps it was because she was scared of what was to come and that was why she felt the chill. It sounded like a pretty good plan but she wasn't gonna kid herself, she'd had to nurse and help Chibs stitch at least one of the Sons up every time they went on a run.

She continued to look around the area, now her eyes were adjusting she could see things better, looking at the path behind her she could see that it winded down the small hill to where the warehouse stood, she and Clay would ride down sometime soon, Jax, Chibs and Opie would go down the hill on foot, and hide amongst the trees not too far away, the others would stay crouched on the hill out of site and would only come down if they were needed. Since the Mayans were coming from Oakland they'd approach from the other side so at least they didn't have to worry about the lads on the hill getting spotted, also the trees were more sparse on their side so the Sons on the hill will have a good view on how many Mayans actually turned up, seeing the area she immediately understood why Clay had demanded the meet go down here, the Sons had the majority of advantages, hopefully though everything would all go to plan and no one would have to get involved right? Nah who was she kidding.

She turn to glance at the other's when she heard laughing, smiling a little herself, how did they do it they didn't seem all that much on edge I mean yeah she could tell they were a little tense but she was struggling to comprehend what was going to go down and the fact that the Sons were well armed didn't really fill her with much confidence. She could feel the pressure of the gun in her waistband as it dug into her back, She'd carried before but only in the house and tonight there was a very high possibility she was going to have to use it and she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about it, the thought of taking a life literally made her cringe inside and made her feel as though she was in darkness. Though she didn't think any less of the men in her family that had taken lives, she wasn't entirely comfortable with it either and that was a constant internal struggle which had reared its head the night Jax had confided in her his first kill, he hadn't mentioned it since that night and although she was curious she couldn't bring herself to ask him what his tally now stood at.

She turned back to study the road and woods again, hoping to commit some of it to memory in case something did go wrong, she was pulled from her trance like state by footsteps crunching on the ground behind her, she turn to see Jax walking up to her and pulling her into a hug, probably trying to warm her up a bit, 'how you feelin?' he asked

'okay I guess, just thinking' she shrugged back looking up at him,

'what about? If you're worried about this you can stay up here and I'll go with Clay' she had already begun shaking her head,

'no, I can't pull out now, Alverez won't like that things have changed, you know that. I'll be fine honest…besides you and Ope won't be too far away' she gave him a small smile as Clay approached holding something out to her, behind him she noticed Happy was replacing his shirt,

'here you go baby girl put this on' Clay held out a kevlar vest to her

'That Hap's?' she asked, Clay nodded his head in response, 'No I can't he'll need it more Clay' she started to decline it until Clay took hold of one of her hands and put the vest into it,

'Hap wants you to have it, besides if shit goes off, your gonna be in the thick of it' he turned away and began walking back she look to Happy who nodded at her telling her he wasn't gonna back down, so rather than fight it she just nodded back the rest of the club seeing her nod turned around to face away from her so that she could change into it, Jax included though he still stood near

'how the hell' she didn't realise she'd spoken out loud until Jax spoke,

'just put it over your head and fasten it at the sides Red' she looked up to see he was still turned away from her and had now lit a cigarette,

'thanks' she mumbled to him 'you know me wearing this kinda makes me more nervous'

'you decent?'

'yeah'

When he turned to face her, she was pretty sure she saw him rake his eyes over her, probably just checking she had it on properly, she reached her hand out for her jumper, Jax had put her jacket on the floor. Before she could grab her jumper off him, he slung it over his shoulder and reached for the vest undoing one side before doing it back up tighter 'don't panic okay, its just in case. I doubt the Mayan's will try owt they want the deal back too much to risk it so just chill ight?' he looked down at her. She just simply nodded at him before slipping on her jumper and tucking it back into her jeans re-arranging the gun so it was more comfortable, Jax held her jacket open for her as she turned into it, him pulling her hair out of the back of it.

Walking back to the group Emery made her way to Chibs, 'give me your phone' although he seemed confused he didn't hesitate in giving it to her, she pulled out her own and called him pressing answer she plugged in her headphones and handed it back to Chibs, showing him how to mute his microphone and unmute it, 'I'll leave the call on hands free, you guys keep the headphone's in, that way you should be able to hear what's happening, keep your side muted unless I say to unmute it okay, it'll just keep you guys up here posted easier' she then turned to Jax 'you got your headphones?' he just nodded then got them out and plugged them into his phone accepting the call when it came through, now they would be in a three way phone call so the guys on the hill will know what's going on and so will Jax and the other two in the woods, turning to Clay she nodded, tucking her iPhone into her back pocket with the speaker facing up and poking out 'ready when you are' she began walking towards his bike, Clay just looked back to the rest of the group who seemed a bit astonished, he raised his eyebrows at them 'hmm...and why didn't no-one ever think of that before?' he muttered as the others laughed a little shaking their heads, it sure would have made life so much more simple.

Standing in the clearing by the warehouse doors, Emery couldn't help but strain her eyes to the distance in hopes of spotting Alverez and his daughter approaching in the distance, all the while she was biting her bottom lip, feeling her heart slam against her chest, she had to fight the urge to keep looking behind to see if she could get a glimpse of Opie or Jax, knowing that seeing their faces would bring her some comfort. She noticed Clay staring at her through the corner of his eyes, she knew he was assessing her, trying to figure her out, in some ways she thought that maybe he wanted her to fail or slip up that way he could prove his point that a girl couldn't stomach being a member, but that wasn't why she was here, she didn't really care for being a member of the club, sure she would support it in any way she could and she was proud of her family but deep down she knew she wasn't cut out for it.

Movement in the distance claimed her attention, she could just make out three silhouette's walking towards them as Clay came to stand beside her

'look's like the Mayan's brought a friend' he spoke to her

'I think its Rodrigo, no doubt the others arnt too far away' she looked to Clay as he nodded at her but she couldn't help tensing up, her father's life depended on this meeting's success. As the trio finally came into view Emery couldn't help but notice certain family dynamic's, although all three were walking together she noticed that Rodrigo stood to his father's left and slightly away from Rita and their Father. Although she didn't doubt he was well built his height made him look slightly lanky and she couldn't help but think he looked fairly nervous, whereas Rita walked with confidence and ease a glint in her dark eyes which made her appear cat like, as she walked hips swaying, she was wearing dark jeans and a crop top showing off her smooth brown skin, her pierced belly button visible, what did take Emery by surprise was the fact that she donned a Mayan cut, similar to her brothers, both had prospect written on them. Was that why Clay got pissed at her for taking charge and asking for the meeting, did that mean that Rita would think she was actually a member of Samcro? Alverez leaned in and spoke something to Rita which she nodded in response, Emery didn't miss the jealous look that was thrown in the President's direction from his son. She'd never seen both siblings together with their father but looking at them now, it was clear that Rita was no doubt the go to child for Alverez and not Rodrigo, though she'd always seen it as Rodrigo looking out for Rita it was obviously an act since people knowing that Rita had such a solid position in the Club and would no doubt be the next Mayan president meant that she would become a target and as Emery well knew, girls could be easily broken by rival clubs, she'd heard enough stories about rape and torture.

'what happen to just you, me and the girls Marcus?' Clays voice bellowed once Alverez and his children were near, Emery looked to Rita who simply nodded at her in greeting, she chose to ignore Rodrigo since she wanted to find out for sure if her theory was right about Rita being the heir to the Mayan mc

'you and I both know your boy's are nearby hermano' Marcus spoke back 'they may as well come out' he shouted, Emery internally cringed at the volume before looking to Clay, he gave her a look which she wasn't quite sure what he meant by it, not wanting Alverez to know how out of her comfort zone she was she just decided to guess at what Clay would want, Seeing Marcus wave his hand forward, she saw four more men make their way towards them,

'Jax, you guys may aswell come out' she called though she knew they'd hear her through the phone, Feeling Opie's presence loom behind her she felt somewhat calmer. Just as Clay and Alverez began to discuss the proposition, figure's appeared from the fringe of the forest the Mayans had previously appeared from. Gunshots began to ring out, ducking she felt Opie shelter her, dragging her behind a crate, keeping her head down she shouted to him over the noise 'what the hell was that?!'

'you're gonna need that gun Red, Niner's just joined the party'.


	12. Chapter 12

**_Some action in this one for you :) glad people are enjoying it, Italics = Flashback_**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 12- New Beginnings._**

Violently running her hand through her hair in a failed attempt to get the knots out she glanced around again nervously, she had a killer headache and she knew she at least had a split lip as she felt her lip tightening as the blood dried, unconsciously licking the wound on her lip she continued to drive the black Range Rover, she glanced over to the passenger seat where Rodrigo sat, one arm hanging limp whilst he used his good hand to apply pressure to his bleeding leg, he was using Emery's jacket though it wasn't really working that well since the outside was leather, she glanced in the rear view mirror to be sure they weren't being followed.

'we need to pull over so I can stitch your leg and look at your shoulder' she spoke to him as she began pulling in to a dark turning

'no, we need to get to the school like you said to the others' he grunted at her,

'you'll bleed out before we even get there Rodrigo, do you think they'd have a first aid kit?' she asked as she jumped out the car,

'boot?' he barked at her, she could tell he was worried about his sister throughout the drive he was constantly asking Emery if she was sure she got away but all she could tell him was that she was with Jax she didn't really see them leave but she knew Jax would have got them out, she'd have felt it if he was in trouble.

'Rita's gonna be okay, Jax'll keep her safe' she muttered back to him

'you better hope so for your own sake Trager' she rolled her eyes at him as she walked round to the boot of the car, how ungrateful did he wanna be if it wasn't for her he'd still be lying on the floor bleeding out. Slamming the boot shut she made her way round the passenger side of the car, ignoring Rodrigo's protest's she looped his good arm round her neck and helped him stagger out of the car letting him lean on her for support, she helped him to sit on a log not far from the car. He growled at her as she poked and prodded his arm and leg assessing the damage,

'thankfully your shoulders only dislocated, but the bullet in your calf's in pretty deep I'm gonna have to dig it out before I can stitch it, but its gonna hurt and you need to stay quiet, some of the Niner's might still be around' she walked over to the car and grabbed the bottle of vodka that had previously been rolling around the foot well in the back seat behind the passenger chair.

Rodrigo watched the grey eyed girl as she got some vodka and her jacket out of the car and came to stand in front of him,

'What're they for chica?' he asked nodding towards the items in her hand,

'this' she said holding up the vodka 'is for you to drink and I'll use it to wash your wounds, they isn't any antiseptic liquid in the first aid kit' she held up her jacket 'and this is to keep you quiet whilst I dig for the bullet' he couldn't help but gulp slightly 'we'll do your arm first' she grabbed a hold of his arm which was in absolute agony, the she placed a firm had on his shoulder, he heard her take a deep breath before she slammed his shoulder forward as she pulled his arm back, he let out a low grunt of pain, hearing his shoulder pop back into place, noticing that the pain had pretty much stopped and was now feeling quite numb. As the girl stepped away to assess, he rolled his shoulder back feeling a slight twinge of pain but nothing compared to how it had felt. He then watched her as she handed him her jacket and he looked at it with a puzzled look,

'put it in your mouth' feeling slightly dubious he did as she asked, putting it in his mouth he could taste the metallic twang from his own blood that still coated parts of the leather material. He let out a muffled cry of pain as she poured the alcohol over his wound, he didn't fail notice how she cringed at his cries as she began digging for the bullet with her thumb and first finger. Even though he had hurt her she still felt bad for hurting him, it felt strange to him since he didn't feel any guilt at all for any of the times he'd hit her or caused her any pain, he continued watching her as she began stitching up the bullet wound on his calf she looked deep in thought stitching him almost mechanically.

* * *

As she sat stitching Rodrigo's leg she thought back to the past hour and a bit, about how everything had gotten so crazy and dangerous in the blink of an eye.

 _She felt her heart sink to the bottom of her stomach at Opie's words, what the hell were the Niner's doing here and better yet how did they even know that the two presidents were meeting?. Hearing more gunshots she cringed into Opie's side,_

 _'_ _what do I do?' she shouted to him,_

 _'_ _stay here okay, make sure the others know to come down' she was nodding at him reaching for her phone in her back pocket, 'promise me Em, promise me you'll stay here till me or one of the others come back for you' he pleaded with her, as his eyes met hers she could see the fear they held, he wasn't scared about the gunfight which was ensuing, he was scared of losing her or her getting hurt, hoping to give him some comfort that she'd be okay she squeezed one of his hands and nodded to him, he nodded back before running off. Pulling out her phone she noticed the three way call had cut off so she began calling Ryan she gave a sigh of relief when he answered_

 _'_ _were already on our way princess, where are you?' he asked anxiety clear in his voice,_

 _'_ _i-in the clearing, Opie told me to wait behind a crate…it's okay I've got my knife and a gun' she stammered back, she ended the phone call after he promised he'd find her and get her out. She let out a slight scream as a bullet flew into the crate by her head, peeking over the top he could see that the Niner's were getting closer, the others had made it down and she could see many of the members of both the Mayans and Samcro grappling with the Niner's, looking around she saw Rita trying to fight off quite a large black lad, but she seemed to be losing the fight as the Niner began strangling her, without giving it much thought she'd started running towards the pair, running faster than she thought she was capable of, she ducked behind crates as she made her way towards the Spanish girl. It seemed as though time had stood still, she was pretty sure she heard her name be called a few times as she made her way through the clearing avoiding the onslaught of bullets, finally getting within a distance of Rita and her attacker she saw that Rita's tanned face was red and that spit was forming at the young girls mouth, knowing Rita wouldn't last much longer before lapsing into unconsciousness Emery reached into her boot and let her knife fly, hitting its mark in the Niners shoulder causing him to drop the Spanish girl as she slumped to the floor bringing her hands to her neck and breathing deeply._

 _Not wanting the attacker to get his bearing back Emery ran forwards, tackling the Niner to the ground, both landing on their sides, she tried to push away from him but he managed to get on top of her and punch her in the face once before she put her arms up to block his onslaught, she looked around the Niner who was raining down punches to see Rita still trying to get her breath back watching the fight with wide eyes, realising that she wouldn't be getting any help from Rita right now, she tried looking for an advantage, the Niner ducked his head as he punched her in the stomach causing her to double over closer to him, spotting the knife still in his shoulder she grabbed it ripping it out of his shoulder as he let out a gurgled cry of pain, she tried to stab him with the knife again but was unsuccessful as he knocked it out of her hand. She grabbed his wrist the next time he tried to punch her, dragging him forwards so that his face collided with her elbow hard,she ignored the shooting pain that shot through her arm at the contact as he shook his head, she brought her legs up as high as she could and wrapped them around his upper body, getting a better grip on his arm she straightened out her legs taking the Niner's upper body with them and twisted so that she had the Niner in an arm bar, pulling his arm back until she heard it snap, the attacker crying out from the pain of his now broken arm, she scrambled away from him towards Rita, she grabbed hold of the girls face trying to get her to look her in the eye, great she's in shock, perfect time, Rita just perfect._

 _She turned to face the Niner who was now trying to stand, fuck, she had no weapon, her eyes flashed to the knife which was on the floor out of her reach, following her eyesight the Niner smiled at her flashing his silver teeth, seriously? She thought you have a stab wound in the shoulder of the arm I just broke and you're...grinning? The hell! She wasn't gonna win he was way bigger than her, fuck! She could run but Rita was in no shape to be running anywhere, as the gang member pulled out his gun, Emery felt the weight of her own in her waistband, she reached to grab it but he was quicker he tutted at her as he trained the gun level with her head, she closed her eyes waiting for the hit,_

 _'_ _I wouldn't do that if I was you' Jax's voiced drawled, and never in her life had she ever been so happy to hear his voice, the Niner dropped the gun as Jax pistol whipped him knocking him into unconsciousness. Before the Niner's body could even hit the floor Jax was in front of her, his hands tracing her face for cuts and bruises, she bit her bottom lip as Jax ran his finger along the now drying cut that marked it. She looked up to meet his eyes, the way he was looking at her was so intense that she couldn't help but look away choosing instead to look at Rita. Obviously not satisfied that she wasn't looking at him, Jax's hand moved to her cheek, turning her head to face him_

 _'_ _I'm okay Jax' she said softly to him, he just nodded at her_

 _'_ _Rodrigo!' Emery was pretty sure that she could hear Marcus shouting for Rodrigo, hearing her father scream her brother's name, Rita stood up and began walking out into the clearing, before she could make it out into the open Emery grabbed her arm and yanked her back to where they were sheltered,_

 _'_ _are you crazy, you'll get shot just walking out there!' she whisper shouted at the girl who was clearly still in shock,_

 _'_ _I need to find mi hermano Emery' although she was taken a little of guard of the fact that Rita had actually used her name, she hadn't called her puta, or Trager she'd actually said her name, Christ this was becoming a strange night, she gave a sigh before she told the girl to stay crouched where she was as Emery crawled over to Jax._

 _'_ _can you see him?' she whispered as she poked her head over the top of the crate with Jax, Jax just nodded to someone lying on the floor who was stirring ever so slightly_

 _'_ _okay, I'm gonna go to him, you get Rita out of here she's in shock, tell the others that we'll all meet up at the school' she went to move but Jax grabbed hold of her,_

 _'_ _I'll go get him, you loop back and meet with the others' he told her_

 _'_ _Jax he's obviously hurt, I can help him' she squeezed his hand_

 _'_ _no way, I'm not letting you out there on your own, besides how you gonna get him to the school?' he still hadn't let go of her hand_

 _'_ _there' she pointed to a range rover 'I'll hotwire it if the keys aren't in it' she shrugged at him he couldn't help but smile a little he remembered when he'd electrocuted himself once when they were hotwiring cars together to joyride,_

 _Why couldn't he just let her do this one thing she could do it she knew it, but he wasn't gonna back down, he turned from her and walked over to pick up her knife, handing it to her he just nodded his head and said 'just in case you need it, be careful and we'll meet you at the school' she nodded to him as he kissed her head before helping Rita up and walking her back to the others._

 _Flat out running towards Rodrigo, she skidded to her knees at his side, she quickly began checking him over, his most obvious wound was the gunshot to his calf, his arm look limp and could be either broken or dislocated but she didn't really want to patch him up here, although the fight was dying down she knew the car belong to the Niner's so they'd be coming back this way and if they found Rodrigo and her they were up shit creek without a paddle, lifting Rodrigo under his arms she dragged him round to the car, panting and groaning under his weight, once they got there he kind of came round_

 _'_ _Emery?' he asked a little hazy, what was it with him and his sister using her name all of a sudden?_

 _'_ _hmm hmm' she practically gunted as she opened the car door and had to stop herself from literally jumping for joy when she saw the keys in the ignition, she brought Rodrigo's good arm round her shoulders and helped him into the passenger seat with a heave, by god when she got home the first thing she was doing was having a long hot shower, she was covered in sweat and blood and mud and god knows what else, she was in the middle of scrunching her nose up at her appearance when she heard Rodrigo speak,_

 _'_ _wait, wait do you even have a license?' he asked looked genuinely quite scared and she couldn't help but laugh a little_

 _'_ _nope, but I can drive, trust me' she winked at him as she put the car into drive and sped off in the direction of the school._

'yo, chica!' a hand waved in front of her face 'hey, Emery' snapping out of her memory she looked up to Rodrigo

'what?' she snapped a little embarrassed

'I said why are you helping me?' he's started messing with his t-shirt

She gave a loud sigh standing up from stitching him 'just because I don't particularly like you doesn't mean I want you to die' she said honestly,

'wow, and I've been a real assole to you' he let out a little laugh,

'don't go all soft on me Rodrigo' she gave him a little smile, 'come on we need to get to the others' she reached for his arm and this time he accepted her help more easily letting out a small 'thanks' which she didn't think she was supposed to hear

* * *

Pulling into the school parking lot she saw the all the Harleys and finally felt calm, she saw Rita standing with her father and the rest of the Mayan's

'see, told you Jax would take care of her' she said to Rodrigo who just shrugged at her, getting out of the car, Ryan was the first to reach her as she began walking to her family as Rita ran to help her brother out of the car,

'are you alright?' Ryan asked as he checked her over, pulling her into a tight hug as she nodded to him, he kissed her on the cheek as they separated and she was pulled into a hug by Chibs

'by god lass you had us worried' he whispered to her,

'its okay Chibby I'm fine, really' she was practically passed round the member's finally reaching Happy as he gave her a smile which he reserved only for her and ruffled her hair,

'I thank you for what you've done for my children' Alverez spoke to her 'Me and Clay have come to an agreement, your father will get protection for the rest of his sentence' he held his hand out for her to shake,

'thank you' she breathed she couldn't help but give him a smile as she shook his hand firmly, after Clay and Marcus had shook hands and they had set fire to the car since it had Rodrigo's blood in it, both mc's went on their separate ways home, Emery took a deep breath as her matted hair whipped around her face on the back of Ryan's Harley, she rested her head on his back inhaling his familiar scent, finally her dad would be fine, she'd go and see him next visiting day, it seemed like it had been forever since she'd last seen him.

As everyone trudged into the clubhouse, Gemma was instantly at Clay's side sucking his face as the others just let out a low chuckle and made their way over to the bar, Juice and Ryan started handing out beers, Ryan handing one to her

'here you go Princess' he winked at her as she took the beer taking a big swig from the bottle, once Clay had finished filling Gemma in on what had happened Gemma was in front of her, fussing about her face and her arms, which had some cuts on them but nothing too damaging,

'don't you ever put yourself in danger like that again' she scolded Emery, causing everyone to quiet down and watch the exchange,

'what do you mean Gem?' she asked confused,

'Clay told me he saw you run to help Alverez's kids, don't ever do that again, none of us could bear to lose you kid' she'd moved her hands to either side of Emery's face

'I'm sorry' Emery whispered 'and I'm sorry I didn't stay put when I promised Ope' she looked to him,

'it's okay Red Bird, should've made you pinky swear' he winked at her.

* * *

Fresh out the shower, Emery put on some pyjama shorts and a baggy t-shirt, her hair hung damp down her back in curls, her bare feet pattered down the hallway as she made her way to Ryan's room, she'd decided to stay at the clubhouse since she didn't like the thought of being alone at home. She lightly knocked on his door hoping he'd still be awake. Pushing the door open gently, she saw Ryan spread out width ways across his bed with nothing put sweat pants on, he was watching some film on the small tv that sat on his drawers in the corner of his room, He gave her a smile as she walked over to his bed and lay length ways with her head on his toned stomach,

'you were amazing tonight, I see what the other mean by you can fight' he spoke softly to her, grinning as he ran his hands through her damp curls, she turned her face to the side so she could face him,

'so you saw that eh,' she blushed slightly 'to be completely honest, I've never been so scared in all my life' she practically whispered back

'you know, the fact you saved both of Marcus's kids definitely helped make him agree to the terms of them not selling in Charming and that, he even said the Mayans will deal with anybody who does start making deals' he started to fill her in on what she'd missed, as he moved his hand to rest on her stomach

'you know what I don't get is how the Niners knew we'd be there' she contemplated, as she began playing with his hand,

'Mayans said they have an idea who it is, it's one of their guys but they want us to help sniff the rat out' he interlocked their hands together,

She sat up and leaning over him, slowly she brought her lips down onto his, her soft lips began moving with his hard chapped ones, feeling that spark that went through her the very first time they'd kissed she brought her hands up to his neck and he began to sit up, dragging her into his lap, this kiss wasn't like the first kiss they'd shared, it started out slow but soon became heated as his tongue brushed along her bottom lip, she opened her mouth slightly giving him access, she didn't fight him as his tongue invaded her mouth, instead her own tongue seemed to just meet his of its own accord, she was way out of her depth here, she'd never kissed anyone properly and definitely not like this, one hand moved to tangle in his hair, as the other ran down his chest causing him to shiver a little making her smile into the kiss, breaking away from the kiss for breath, she looked up causing their eyes to locked. Instantly she went red, and blushed even more so when he chuckled a little at her.

'what was that?' he asked her as she smiled at him, her dimples on full show,

'well I've decided that I'm happy to give this a go' she gestured between the two of them as she spoke 'I mean I don't really know what this is, but I'm happy to find out' she started babbling as her nervousness set in, noticing he didn't reply straight away she started her babbling again as she panicked, 'I mean, that is, erm, if you, you know wanna find out what this is' her eyebrows furrowed together, 'I mean If you don't that's cool, I mean, I uh I understand sin-' she was cut off from her rant as his lips found hers again in a light peck

'Me too' he smiled at her,

Emery practically skipped back to her room, finally things seemed to actually be looking up for her, she'd got her dads protection and things seemed to finally be going somewhere with Ryan, walking into her room she turned on her light and jumped a little when she saw Jax sat on the edge of the bottom of her bed, her heart sunk when she saw that tears streaked his face, and his eyes were red and swollen, he held a large bottle of Jack Daniels which once was full and was now empty gripped tightly in his hand, instantly she was in front of him, crouching down between his legs, taking the empty bottle from him and placing it on the floor beside her,

'what's happened Jackson?' she asked him gently, his blue eyes, looked down to meet hers and she saw the hurt in them, he looked so lost,

'she's gone Emery, she said she isn't coming back' he spoke as another tear ran down his face, she reached up to wipe it before it could pass his cheek,

'Tara?' she asked though she was pretty sure she knew, he just nodded at her, she stood and wrapped on arm around his shoulder as she brought his head to her chest as she hugged him, her other arm wrapped around him to rest her hand on the back of his head, they stayed like this for some time as Jax cried silently into her chest. Once he seemed to have stopped, she pulled away, to look at him,

'what am I gonna do?' he asked her, eyes red

'you're gonna have tonight to get drunk and drown it out, then tomorrow your gonna wake up and you're gonna get on with your life' she said softly to him

'what if I can't? it hurts Em' he practically whispered

'You have the biggest family around you Jax, and I'll always be here, no matter what' she moved his hair out of his eyes, as he smiled up at her.

'come on lets go to bed' he just nodded at her, she helped him get his hoody and t-shirt off, she couldn't help but look at his muscular body as she began undressing him grateful for the fact that he was too drunk to notice her blush as she helped him to get his jeans off, once she'd removed his trainers and socks, and placed his belt with his knife on top of her drawers, she quickly plaited her hair to the side, then climb into bed as Jax got in the other side, he snuggled in closer to her resting his head on her chest, listening to her heartbeat as it picked up slightly whilst she stroked his bare back,

'promise me one thing?' he spoke to her, his voice thick from crying

'anything' she responded

'promise you'll never leave me Emery, I couldn't handle it if you left me' he said softly as he nuzzled his head slightly into her chest, and placed his hand on her stomach, she moved her hand to stroke his hair

'never' she whispered as she kissed his head

'love you Em' he half mumbled as he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _ **please review! :)**_


	13. Chapter 13

**_So sorry for the delay, would just like to say thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed and faved :D_**

 ** _traceyklewis - Emery does have feeling for Ryan that's why she's decided to give it a go, but she does feel something for Jax but she's still trying to figure out exactly what they are as in is it as a friend or more? I'm still trying to decide which way I want it to go with them. but I'm sorry fro any confusion._**

 ** _Foreverkee - I'm still trying to figure out if I want them to be together or just be close friends._**

 ** _Justine78 - Sorry your not a big fan of Ryan, but glad you liked the chapter :)_**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 13- Would like Ice with that?_**

He woke that morning with a pounding in his head, and the space beside him empty and cold, shifting to sit up, he looked to the bedside table to find a glass of orange juice and some Tylenol, he knew Emery must have put it there for him, he took the tablets and drained his juice, just as the door to Emery's ensuite opened up. She step through the door with a pink towel wrapped around her hair and piled on top of her head, with another wrapped around her, the part of her chest that was exposed still had droplets of water trickling down, he had to fight to look away, thankfully she didn't seem to notice the blush he was sure was creeping onto his face. When he looked back to her she was smiling brightly with a toothbrush sticking out of her mouth, a thin layer of white foam coated her lips, she walked past the bed and reached for her white silk dressing gown which had cherry blossoms on it, once she put it on she turned her back to him and shimmed out of the towel letting it drop to the floor as she tied her robe at her waist. Jax couldn't help but feel a heat rise in him, his mind drifted back to the night they had met the Mayans and how she'd began changing in front of him, he remembered how soft her skin had looked so smooth and pale, he'd wanted to trace his hand down the indent that ran down her back where her spine was, stopping where two little dimples sat peeking through the top of her leggings when she'd reached for her top off the chair.

'how you feeling?' his memory was broken by the sound of the red head's voice,

'like shit' he replied, then like running straight into a brick wall, his memories came flooding back from the night before, he remembered the conversation he'd had with Tara as she told him that she didn't want to be with him anymore, and that she was leaving Charming for good and that she was never coming back.

Emery glanced over at Jax as he sat in the bed seemingly deep in thought, she began to blow dry her hair as she continued to study him, once she'd finished she sat on the bed sticking her head in his eye sight to get his attention,

'hey your gonna be late for school if you don't start getting ready' she spoke softly as she brushed his hair out of her eyes,

'think I'm gonna ditch' he muttered as he looked at her

'well in that case you can get a haircut whilst me and Chibs go see dad' she began as she opened up her wardrobe, pulling out a mid-thigh length pale blue summer dress, 'then later you can give me a ride to work' she smiled at him as she opened her top drawer pulling out a bra and French knickers to match, as she discreetly mushed them into her folded dress out of sight of Jax,

'sure I can give you a ride' he said as he stood up out of the bed, stretching, he smirked a little as he saw Emery eye him before slipping back into her bathroom, 'wait your ditching too?' he called loud enough for her to hear,

'hmmm hmmm, it's not really gonna affect my grade, and besides it been ages since I've seen my dad I don't want to wait till Friday' she called back,

'fair point' he muttered as she walked out the door,

'hey mind if I borrow one of your shirts?' she asked giving him a sweet smile as he raised an eyebrow at her. Rolling his eyes he just nodded,

'okay I'll be there in a sec, just gonna do my face' she chirped as she sat at her vanity table, with one last roll of his eyes he slipped through the door heading to his room to shower.

* * *

She couldn't help the tears that gathered in her eyes as she ran from the doorway to where her father stood from his chair, barrelling straight into his arms, she felt all the tension from the past few days go, the tension from being lonely, she'd never admit it to anyone though she knew that the majority of the club knew that the reason she spent most of her time at the clubhouse these days was because she couldn't face being home alone, all the tension from not knowing how her dad was doing inside, was he okay? Had the nords got to him?. 'I missed you' her voice was barely audible but her father squeezed her closer. Holding her at some distance she could see him assessing her face, she'd managed to cover some of the small cuts, she couldn't however hide the split lip she sported, she didn't miss him raise his eyebrow at the fact she was wearing Jax's blue and white checked long sleeve shirt which she had put on over the top of her dress leaving it open, with her knee length high heeled boots,

'Jesus Em' he peered at her

'Break apart!' a guard came over getting between them and pushing them apart as Emery gave him the stink eye and her dad gave him the finger,

'I'm okay dad' she sat at the desk opposite him

'don't think Clay hasn't told me what went down, and don't think were not gonna discuss it' he gave her a pointed look as she guiltily looked down at her hands where they rested on the desk 'but that can wait I don't want to waste our time with me going off at you' he smiled across the desk at her,

'what so your gonna wait a year and a bit to rag on me?' she laughed at him

'hey, I could do it now in front of all these people?' he mockingly raised his eyebrow at her

'its really good to see you pa' she gave him a sweet smile, showing her dimples it was the one smile he'd missed most, it was the smile that normally greeted him in the morning, and said goodnight to him. After her dad had lectured her on the fact that he thought her dress was too short, they sat and discussed what was going on with the club, what he'd been up to inside, he gave her a small rant on how she didn't need to get a job and that if she'd wanted a job she should have asked Gemma if she could work in the office and so on until the bell rang signalling that visiting time was over, her eyes watered again as she stood to hug her father goodbye, taking hold of his hand before she turned away from him she kissed his cheek,

'you need it more than me, I love you pa' then she was gone with a tight smile and a delicate wave. He looked down to see that his daughter had slipped her necklace that was once her mother's into his hand, he'd have to make sure he kept it hidden.

* * *

She was four hours into her shift, Bobby had retired and only popped in every now and then, so his son Eddy was in charge, they got on well, he was a little nerdy and jumpy but was good company, she managed to get to grips with how things worked, although she did have some difficulty with the milkshake machine, she also secretly loved her uniform though she'd never admit it to anyone, she wore a typical retro's waitress outfit, it was a pale pink dress, that fanned out around her thighs, it had the white little frilly apron on it, she wore white ankle socks which were frilly round the hem, and she put black shoes which had a small heel on with it, she'd drawn the line however at the hat choosing instead to beehive her hair and having it up in a ponytail since she couldn't wear it down. She was in the middle of making a milkshake and laughing and joking with the girl she was serving about how she'd finally got it right when the doors opened and she heard familiar laughter, looking up she saw April, Donna, Jax, Opie, Ryan and Juice walk in all laughing about something that April had said, as she looked to her friendship group April waved and Emery nodded holding up her hand saying one minute, after ringing up the till for the young girl, and telling Eddy she was taking a short break she walked over to the group, leaning on one hip she pulled out her pen and pad out of her apron pocket, popping her chewing gum

'can I get you guys anything?' she mocked in a fake girly voice, before laughing and taking a seat next to Ryan, who put his hand on her thigh, kissing her on the cheek as she smiled up at him, the girls had all laughed at her when she'd told them about the job saying they hoped she didn't turn into one of those girls who were constantly swaying their hips and popping their chewing gum thinking they looked sexy when I fact it just made them look obnoxious

'look at you redbird, looks like your living the dream', Opie joked at her, she threw her towel at him as she stuck her tongue out, Jax watched as Ryan's arm came up to drape around Emery's shoulders, pulling her closer into his side as the group all laughed and joked, it was nice to see her fairly happy again since everything that had happened with her father, seeing the two of them together only made his heart ache more for the fact that he no longer had that in his life, for all the arguments and fights he and Tara got into he still loved her, he couldn't help that, he just had to remember that alcohol wasn't gonna fix it either. One thing he knew for sure though was that he and Ryan were gonna be having a talk. But if he was honest with himself he didn't want to have a talk with Ryan, he wanted to kick the crap out of him for putting his hands on Emery, though he wasn't quite so sure why watching him kiss her, hold her made his blood boil. Well maybe he did but he didn't want to admit it, he couldn't.

Once her break was over everyone got up to leave,

'I'll pick you up when you finish' Ryan told her as she smiled at him, leaning up to place a soft kiss on his lips,

'guess I'll see you at 9 then' she sent him on his way with another kiss and a wave.

'so you know the sons huh?' Ed spoke to her as she was cleaning out the coffee machine,

'hmm hmm' she smiled at him,

'so that brown haired boy your boyfriend?' he asked she wasn't sure if he was digging for information or if he was just making small talk,

'I guess you could say that' she spoke as she continued cleaning,

'figures' he muttered, she turned to face him,

'and what does that mean?' she asked starting to get a little defensive,

'well girls tend to go for the bod boy kinda guy don't they' realising he wasn't trying to rile her up she laughed a little at him,

'don't let them hear you say that' she laughed at him,

'so you know them well?' he asked

She finished cleaning the machine, deciding she liked Ed she answered, 'yeah, my dad's a son'

He looked as though the answer had been obvious, as he slapped his palm to his face, 'of course, Trager, Emery Trager, as in Tig Trager right?' she just laughed at his goofiness, the door chimed and in walked the green eyed boy she'd been waiting all afternoon for,

'hey, I'll just be a sec' she called out to him as she walked to the coat hanger, grabbing her leather jacket and bag,

'see you tomorrow Ed' she called as she walked out hand in hand with Ryan.

'well he seems….friendly' Ryan turned to her raising an eyebrow, she nudged him with her shoulder,

'he's Bobby's son and he's harmless' she told him, 'although he has got those really cute freckles' she joked as he tutted at her pulling his hand away, she laughed at him intertwining her hand with his again, 'I'm joking, I mean the freckles are cute but you have nice eyes' she mock him as he raised their hands to kiss hers,

'carry on and you can walk home' he poked her in the stomach,

'you wouldn't do that to me?' she gave him her best puppy dog eyes,

'oh, really?' he smirked at her,

'nope you'd be too scared that Happy'd kick your ass if he found out' she winked at him, laughing he handed her, her helmet as he position himself on his bike feeling her slide on behind him.

* * *

Once he'd parked up outside of her house she slipped of the bike taking off of the helmet and handing it to him,

'you coming in for a bit?' she asked with a shy smile

'I can't babe. I've got club business tonight' he gave her a tight smile as she just nodded her head in understanding even though she was a little disappointed. She looped her hands around his neck as she gave him a long lingering kiss before waving goodbye as he waited for her to enter her house before setting off. Once inside she tossed her keys onto the table clicking the button to check for any answering messages, this was the first time she'd been home in over 3 days, the only message were from April asking about some homework, slipping the bobble out of her hair she gave a sigh as she switched on the lamp. Walking into the kitchen she grabbed a beer and sipped it as she sieved through the mail. After a nice relaxing bath, she braided her hair into a side fish plait and moisturised, whilst she caught up on pretty little liars. Halfway through painting her nails a reddish plum colour the phone began ringing, racing downstairs she answered it,

'hello' she chimed,

'….' She could hear someone breathing but no one was talking,

'hello….. is anyone there?' she asked, wondering if maybe they hadn't heard her the first time,

'….' She had nothing but some weird breathing as her reply, feeling slightly weirded out she put the phone down, shaking of her feeling of unease she finished painting her nails and letting them dry before slipping into bed and letting sleep claim her.

Walking the corridors in school the next day she and April made their way to their lockers, today she'd gone for a more comfortable look, wearing light blue denim shorts with a grey baggy vest top which she'd tucked in at the front, on her feet she wore white converses, with a brown leather rucksack, which was hung on both arms and rested at the bottom of her back.

'so you up for it?' April asked a little giddy as she was placing some of her books into her locker,

'sure I don't see why not?' Emery replied a she pulled out her Spanish textbook, 'I mean it could be fun' she shrugged as her blonde friend looked to her,

'really… you mean really, really?' she asked the excitement bouncing in her eyes 'you're not just saying it then gonna cancel at the last minute?'

'nope, not gonna cancel…I'll come to the party but if it's a drag I'm leaving' she held her hand out to her friend 'deal?'

April excitedly shook her hand, 'oh my god yes!' she let out a little squeal as Emery cringed slightly at the sound coming from her eccentric friend. 'we so need to go tomorrow after school and get a new outfit' Emery couldn't help but roll her eyes before agreeing to go with her. Passing Rita on their way to their next class, she received a nod of the tanned girl's head, which she returned

'you still need to tell about how exactly you and Rita became friends' April practically whispered to her,

'were not friends just….civil' she shrugged as they entered the class taking their seats to wait out the boring lesson together.

Emery was tired, she'd been dragged around pretty much every shop and whilst she loved shopping, she hated shopping with April. April was the kind of girl that would look and look and look, because in her mind there was always something else to get or she didn't want to miss out on anything. It had been hard enough for Emery to get Happy and Clay to agree to let them come to Oakland to shop especially without Jax or Opie being with them. Last night Emery had got more weird phone calls and even some messages of someone just heavily breathing, so she'd decided to speak to Gemma about it thinking it wasn't really a big deal but she'd rather let someone know. So since then Happy had stepped up to the Godfather role and he'd been staying at Emery's house with her. In all fairness she was enjoying having someone there, someone to greet her when she got home, someone to cook for. She'd been missing her father a whole lot more since seeing him and she just hoped their time apart would go fly by. After finally finishing shopping Emery trudged outside to where April had parked her car, they'd decided to go back to Aprils to try on their clothes since Happy was on club business and wouldn't be back till late.

* * *

April was strutting round her room in her new brilliant red high heels asking Emery's opinion on them for the fifteenth time when there was a loud banging at the front door, instantly Emery looked towards April who just shrugged at her,

'mom and dad aren't back till late' she said in a small voice, walking to the window there was a black SUV 'I don't know who's car that is' she squeaked as there was another bang at the door, Emery pushed forwards looking out the window,

'well, I really don't think it's the girl scouts with cookies' she spoke to her friend who looked truly terrified, Emery took hold of her friends hand squeezing it gently,

'I'm scared Em' her friend looked down to her with teary eyes, wiping her friends eyes Emery fought back her fear and instead thought about how to get them out of here the window was too high up for them to jump.

'I'm not gonna let nothin' happen to you okay' she gave her a honest looked all evidence of her previous fear gone, 'I'm getting us out of here, grab your keys were gonna try for the back door before they get in' she told the girl as she slung her rucksack on her back, then taking the scared girls hand she led the way down the corridor to the stairs. They were halfway down the stairs when the door burst open, 'RUN' Emery shouted to her friend as she pushed her in front of her, as April ran down the rest of the stairs and towards the kitchen one of the men tried to grab her, as April let out a small scream at the man's closeness, Emery took a photo in its frame off the wall, the photo was of her and April at their first school dance, lifting it high, she brought it down hard on the attackers head hearing him let out a small cry as the glass broke scattering across the floor. The man turned grabbing Emery round the neck, she fought to stay calm as her airwaves were blocked off by the man's meaty hand, she tried kicking out but didn't get very far before he dragged her down the rest of the stairs throwing her against a wall, she let out a heavy oof as she hit the wall and slumped to the floor, there was a pain in her back and her head was pounding. She saw April turn to look at her a horrified look on her face,

'go April!, get in the car' she waved the girl off when she gave her a worried glance 'go' she mouthed to her friend before seeing the flash of blonde disappear out of the back door, as the attacker got closer to her Emery quickly shot up gripping hold of a large piece of glass from the frame trying to ignore the spinning in her head that came with it,

'just stay down kid, it's the blonde we want' the man muttered, hearing the man say he wanted April made Emery's blood boil, no way in hell was she letting this man anywhere near her friend, looking back to the broken door she saw another man approaching them he was a lot taller and well built, she needed to get out of here and fast she couldn't really take this one, she hadn't heard April car leave so she guessed the blonde was waiting for her friend, bringing her attention back to the first attacker she saw his left shoulder fall as he brought his fist round hoping to make contact with her face, instead she ducked, landing a punch in the man's gut as his hand slammed into the wall causing some of the plastering to fall, as he hunched over at her punch she brought her knee up to collide with his nose, swallowing up the bile that rose in the throat at the sickening sound of his nose crunching under the force of her knee she then slammed the shard of glass into his shoulder blade not noticing that she'd cut her own hand doing it which was now bleeding quite badly. The man staggered back letting out a gargled cry holding on to his nose that was now gushing blood. Not wanting to stick around Emery quickly span around and ran to her friends waiting car they were soon pulling out of the drive and were on their way to the clubhouse.

'pull over' Emery spoke softly to her friend who now was sobbing and had make up running down her face, the obviously not hearing her continued to sob so Emery placed her hand on her friends arm to gain her attention, 'pull over Ape, I'll drive' her friend just nodded as she pulled into a lay by, Emery got out the car and walked round to the driver's side as her friend climbed over inside the car

'are you okay? Your hands bleeding' her friend spoke though her voice sounded alien and so broken, giving April a tight smile Emery pulled off nodding a little,

'I'm fine, told you I would let nothing happen to you' she smiled a little at her friend who returned it giving her, her silk scarf to wrap around her bleeding palm,

'I'm so sorry Em I'm such a coward' she hung her head in her hands 'I just ran, I ran and left you to fight a man on your own' she was shaking her head that still lay in her hands, keeping an eye on the road she stroked the top of her friends head,

'your not a coward Ape, I told you to run' she changed gear as she sped up then continued to stroke her friends hair 'besides turns out those men were there for you, so it's a good job you ran' April looked to Emery with wide eyes,

'don't worry, the club will handle it' Emery spoke to her, but April didn't miss the darkness that misted over her friends eyes,

'but I'm not samcro' April muttered,

'to me you are, and to most of the boys, like Jax and Ope' she lifted up her friends chin 'you're more Samcro than you know, besides I owe you one remember' she winked at her friend,

'well look on the brightside Em, between having to drive this car and that range rover the other day, I think you're gonna be just fine on your driving test' she giggled a little,

'let's just hope we don't get pulled over, or if we let's just pray it Unser' Emery laughed back at her friend as she pulled into the parking lot of TM


	14. Chapter 14

**_Just wondered how you guys would feel if some smut was in the story? not sure that I'll be that great at writing it but I'm willing to give it a try :)_**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 14- Pressure Rising_**

Emery sat at the bar in the clubhouse, it was dimly lit, one prospect was behind the bar, April was sat next to her, her face still marked by her make-up, she was staring lifelessly at the cider which sat in front of her. Emery stole glances at her whilst she rubbed at the condensation on her own glass, dunking the ice under the liquid with her straw. When they'd come in not many of the club members were lingering around, Ryan and Juice had been here since they were living here, but only Chibs and Piney had been the patched in members around. Once Emery had explained to them what had happened they'd called Clay and called a club meeting. They'd been in the club meeting for around a half hour now.

The door to the club burst open as Richard practically ran into the clubhouse, instantly Emery stood, relaxing slightly when she saw it was just Richard. Although she would say that April looked more like her mother she had her father's dark chocolaty eyes, which right now Richards were bulging out of his head,

'Clay?!...where's April' he was frantic and in his state hadn't noticed that April was sitting the bar, within second's April was in her father's arms crying as he gently stroked her hair. After he'd guided her back to the bar, he began making his way towards church,

'I wouldn't interrupt them' Emery spoke to the man whom she didn't really speak to, she got on with Aprils mum but her father wasn't always around he spent a lot of time out on business.

'I need to make sure he'll take care of this' Richard snapped at her,

'Dad!' April fired back, 'it's not Emery's fault' she looked as though she was processing something,

'wait I never messaged or rang to say what happened, how did you know something happened?' she stood from her bar stool facing her father,

'he said this would happen' Emery watched as Richard rubbed his face with his hands, 'he said that if I prosecuted he'd come for you….and then I went home a saw the place was smashed up-'

'who dad?...who said they'd come?' she cut her dad off, her voice small, he didn't reply instead he just turned away from her still standing by the doors leading to the meeting room,

'Dammit dad tell me what the hell is going on!' she took a step forwards, her shock from her ordeal replaced with anger,

'watch your mouth!' he shouted back and Emery cringed under the weight, Tig had never shouted at her like that,

'some men break into _our_ house and try to attack me and my friend' her voice dropped lower 'and all you can say is watch your mouth?' Emery wished she could run and hide somewhere, she wished she could be anywhere but here right now. She always pictured April's family as the perfect family, where they have tea at the table and Sunday lunches. That they'd all sit around the dinner table and tell each other about their day, in some ways Emery had always kind of been jealous of that life.

'I mean it April shut your damn mouth' he turned pointing a vicious finger at her 'just stop whilst I talk to Clay and get this sorted out' April started marching over to where her dad stood,

'only you won't sort it will you dad' she continued to walk closer, 'because you'll get Samcro to deal with it, for all you say about them, they are more men then you will _ever_ be' her voice broke on her last words, without warning her father slapped her hard across the face, Emery jumped at the sound as his palm met April's face, although her head turned with the force April continued to glare at her father,

'April, I'm so sor-' her father began to apologise once he'd realised what he'd done,

'Em' April cut her father off, 'you mind if I stay here tonight?' her voice sounded tough, she didn't even turn to face Emery as she spoke, keeping her eyes locked in a battle with her father,

'of course' Emery spoke but it was more of a squeak, she watched as April turned and began walking back, now her face was out of view of her father, Emery saw April squeeze her eyes shut as some tears fell as she scrunched her face up in hurt. Emery squeezed her hand as she walked past,

'I'll be in as soon as I've heard from Clay' she squeezed Aprils hand again as the blonde girl nodded to her, her tears still forming. Emery glanced behind her to see the prospect at the bar was looking down not wanting to make eye contact with anyone,

'think we need to talk Richie' Clays gravelly voice spoke out and Emery whipped her head back round to see that the meeting was over. Ryan made his way over slinging an arm over her shoulder and kissing her on the cheek,

'where's April?' Juice asked looking around for her,

'she's in my room' she told him then as he came closer she spoke quietly to him, 'she's a bit upset, you should probably take her some ice' Juice gave her a curious look and she just shook her head at him. She watched him as he gathered some ice in a towel and began making his way to her bedroom. She looked up to Ryan,

'what'd he decide?' she asked not sure if she really wanted to know the answer,

'well, so far he thinks that April should stay within the club' Emery nodded at him, 'Piney did mention that maybe she should go stay at his cabin and that you could go with her' he pulled a stray lock of hair behind her ear, 'nothings final yet though, Clay wants to know how bad it is first'

Ryan's last comment set her on edge a bit, if Clay decided it would be too much hassle did that mean that he wouldn't help protect April or get her father out of whatever situation he had gotten himself into? Letting out a sigh, she turned to face Ryan hiding her head into his chest,

'when are things just gonna chill?' she muttered into Ryan's chest,

'don't worry princess we'll sort it out, Aprils gonna be just fine' he soothed her as he stroked her hair.

* * *

Emery peered her head in through her bedroom door and saw April asleep tucked under Juices arm, her head resting on his chest. He raised his head to look at Emery,

'you want me to leave so you can sleep?' he practically whispered, Emery just shook her head,

'no you stay here with her' she nodded in Aprils direction before making her way over to her friend and kissing her lightly on the head, 'I'll bunk with Ryan' she whispered back to Juice who just smiled at her,

'Night Em' he called softly as she reached her door,

'Night Juicy' she whispered back before slowly and quietly shutting her bedroom door.

She gently knocked on Ryan's door and was greeted by him standing in nothing but his boxers,

'hey' she tried to stop herself from raking her eyes over his body, but she failed and was rewarded by Ryan's signature smirk,

'like what you see?' he asked her, blushing slightly she shoved him back into his room,

'shut up' she whispered as she pushed him further back until his back was flush against the wall, pushing herself up onto her toes so her body was pushed up against his she captured his lips with her own. The kiss soon turned heated as their tongues fought for dominance, Ryan standing victorious, she was happy to fall into this moment with him where she could forget about what was happening outside of these four walls. She ran her hands over his tight abdominals humming to herself in appreciation, her hands continued their journey up his body and locked into his hair as he gently bit her bottom lip tugging on it slightly. Without breaking the kiss she kicked off her converses. Ryan's hand begun gliding up her smooth leg, before grasping her behind her knee and pulling her leg up to rest at his hip, she let out a little gasp breaking their kiss when she felt him push his hips against her causing a stir within her when she felt his erection press against her, looking back at him he flashed her a wicked grin before lifting her, cupping her ass as she wrapped her legs around his waist, and pulling his face back to her own recapturing his lips, he walked them over to his bed lowering them onto it so that he was hovering above her. placing a chaste kiss against her lips, his hand reached for the bottom of her top, she lifted her torso off of the bed as he slipped her top over her head,

'god your beautiful' his voice came out throaty, he raked his eyes over her, she bit her lip hoping to hide her blush, Ryan's lips assaulted her neck as he slipped his arm around her back to unclasp her bra. Just as he moved his hand to slip the straps down her arms, there was a knock on the door,

'Yo Ry open up' Jax's voice came through the door,

'shit! Emery whispered, as Ryan turned to get the door she pulled her top back over her head, feeling that her bra was still loose and undone she quickly yanked it down her arms, letting it drop to the floor she kicked it under Ryan's bed, before sitting down and picking up the remote hoping Jax wouldn't notice she was flush and that it would seem like they were just chilling watching TV.

When Jax came into the room he looked a little surprised to see her there, 'hey, Red'

'hey Jax' she gave him a sweet smile, praying her hair wasn't a complete mess, 'whats up?'

'I just erm need to talk to Ry' he came to stand at the end of the bed, raising his eyebrows slightly at her converses, which were strewn across the floor, when he turned back she smiled a little before looking down at her hands which were resting on her crossed legs, he cleared his throat a little causing her to look up, he nudged his head towards the door,

'oh' her eyes widened, 'erm, I'm er, I'm gonna make up the sofa' she squeezed Jax's hand before standing and walking towards the door 'night' she called to him,

'here you can wear this since April and Juice claimed your room' Ryan handed her a top from his drawers, he bent down to place a soft kiss to her lips, 'night princess' she smiled at him before leaving the room and heading to the living area in the bar, she ran her hands through her hair letting out a breath as she walked to a cupboard and starting gathering some blankets together to make up the sofa for the night. What would have happened if Jax hadn't interrupted them? She got completely lost in the moment would she have let Ryan take it all the way. It was something she was nervous about since she'd never slept with anyone before. She hadn't even told her dad that they were seeing each other, how would he take it? Though she was sure she already knew.

* * *

She'd changed into Ryan's top which came just above her knees, and pulled her hair into a side plait before settling down on the couch, she knew for a fact Gemma was gonna give her grief for sleeping on the sofa in blankets, but what else could she do, they'd all kill Ryan if she'd stopped with Ryan all night. She fell asleep remembering her encounter with Ryan over and over again smiling to herself.

Morning' her eyes were being assaulted by light, grunting she sunk further down and pulled the blanket over her head, 'come on Em' Aprils voice reached her she grunted again before feeling a tug at the blanket. She pulled the blanket down to scowl at her friend,

'how'd you sleep?' April asked her as she stood and walked round to make some coffee,

'like shit' Emery muttered her voice still thick with sleep,

'language' Jax scolded as he walked into the room, hair messy and just wearing sweat pants, he made his way over to Emery and lifted her legs, sitting down on the sofa he placed them back over his legs, 'Clay wants to talk to you two this morning' he told the them as April walked over handing both Jax and Emery a cup of coffee,

'he made a decision?' Emery asked curious,

'yeah I have' Clays voice boomed as he walked through the front door, Gemma strutting in behind him, her heels clicking in her wake,

'did you sleep on the couch?' Gemma ask her, before Emery could reply April spoke,

'that was my fault sorry Gem I fell asleep, in her room…with Juice' Emery could she her friend wince a bit, she knew that Gemma made her feel nervous. Sure Gemma was a little difficult with people when they first get to know them, but if she likes you she can be sweet and caring, she likes April but it doesn't stop her from still being slightly on edge whenever the matriarch is around,

'Juice?' Gemma didn't look even slightly surprised, instead she had a knowing smirk on her face, April gave her a sweet smile in return as she blushed.

'so are you and Juice like a thing?' she asked the tall blonde,

'erm, I dunno… I mean….i dunno' she shrugged at the queen of Samcro her embarrassment evident, Gemma gave her a knowing smile as she took a cup of coffee from April. Without warning Gemma's hand moved the strands of hair which were hiding the angry red mark she'd received from her father.

'how'd you get that?' Gemma asked concern covered her face,

'dad….he got a little angry' April put her head down, 'I was out of line' she shrugged a little before facing Gemma,

'bullshit' Gemma called, 'I'll be having words with Richie' she turned to Clay who nodded slightly at her,

'we've decided it'll be best for April to spend some time up at Piney's cabin, just till we get this shit sorted' Clay informed the girls, who just nodded. 'It's up to you if you want to go too Emery it'll hopefully only be a couple of days' he shrugged,

'sure, I'll go' Emery couldn't help but smile a little it would be like a mini break,

'Piney's gonna stay up there with you and some of the boys will check in every now and then' Clay informed them. She turned to Jax who was smiling at her, and mouthing 'I told you so' at her, she just nudged his side.

'okay I'm gonna go get dressed then I'm gonna pack' she smiled as she stood, 'we'll go to yours after Ape so you can pack' at the mention of going back to the house she could see her friend tense up in front of her, Jax must of noticed it too.

'me and Em can go to yours, Em can get some stuff together for you' Jax told the blonde as he stood and gave her a quick hug, she just nodded a thanks to him before following Emery into her room.

* * *

Walking into Aprils pink room Jax winced as the colour assaulted his eyes,

'Jesus, I knew she was girly but …..jesus!' He continued squinting until he took a seat at the bottom of her bed, her quilt cover still crumpled in a heap. As he took in the rest of her room he quickly discovered that messy was a common theme throughout April's room. It was nothing like Emery's, Emery's was spotless and each thing had its own place both in her bedroom at home and her bedroom at the clubhouse. But April was nowhere near even being tidy, which surprised him since she was such an organised person when it came to school work or life in general, ther girl even carried around a diary for fuck sake where she literally filled in every little thing even if it was a party at the clubhouse.

'it's not that bad Jax' Emery smiled a little to him as she spoke turning to face him, making her light curls fall over her shoulder, 'I mean, sure it's a little untidy… but it could be worse' she shrugged at him as she began trying to reach a suitcase which sat on top of Aprils wardrobe, she grunted a little as she desperately tried to reach for the case, her tongue sticking out in frustration, stifling a laugh Jax got up and stood behind her to reach the case, without realising his body had pressed into hers, she jumped a little and spun round making Jax loose his grip on the suitcase and he watched in what seemed to be slow motion as the case fell from the wardrobe, colliding with Emery's head, which caused her to let out a small yell of surprise as she landed on her butt.

Jax watch as he redhead rubbed her head as she sat scowling at him, he tried to hold in his laughter but it hurt too much, within seconds he was laughing at her uncontrollably and had to back up to the bed for support, he could see Emery trying to hold back her laughter and keep the stern look on her face,

'it's not funny Teller…you did that on purpose' he couldn't help but continue laughing, it was hurting to breathe and hearing her voice crack at the end of her comment causing Emery to laugh along set him off again.

Once they'd managed to get their laughter under control Jax moved the suitcase onto the bed lying it open so that Emery could pack some stuff for her friend. They were quiet as Emery rummaged around to find some things that April would need,

'so you and Ryan eh?' He asked hoping to break the silence, he didn't fail to notice how she dropped the grey jeans she was holding before picking them back up,

'erm what about us?' she began folding the jeans,

'does he make you happy?' that was one important question he needed to know,

'I dunno, I mean come on Jax its early days' she gave him a weak smile as she placed the jeans in the case, then turned back to rummage through the wardrobe, her shoulders looked tense, maybe he shouldn't have mentioned anything,

'I mean he makes me laugh and we get on…so yeah I'm happy' she turned and gave him a genuine smile as she placed a purple folded t-shirt in the case. 'why'd you ask?'

Shit he hadn't bargained for this, fuck fuck fuck what did he say? That secretly he was hoping they were just fooling around, that secretly maybe he'd be able to come between them?, shit no he couldn't do that she was his best friend and Ryan was soon to be a brother he should be happy for them. He cleared his throat before answering,

'ahh, you know… I just , erm, wanted to be sure' she raised a brow at him, making him feel nervous, he scratched the back of his neck, a tell-tale sign which caused Emery's brow to raise further, 'I don't want you to get your heart broken' he said on a sigh and he saw her expression visibly soften,

'this is Ryan were talking about.. he wouldn't do that to me' she practically sang as she began placing various pieces of underwear into the suitcase,

'why, has he told you he loves you?' the question came out before he even had time to re-think it, shit!

'well….no…. but like I said' her expression had faltered and she gave him a fake smile, which he always saw straight through 'early days'

'yeah well early days or not, he better be good to you or me and Op-' he began but didn't get chance to finish before she cut him off,

'will break his legs…blah blah blah' she mocked his voice,

'you may as well joke about it but I'm being deadly serious….brother or not….i'll do it' secretly he was hoping he didn't have to wait long, as much as it would kill him to see Emery heartbroken, and he would personally destroy any man who hurt her like that, he couldn't help but feel a tinge of happiness at the fact that Ryan hadn't confessed his undying love for her but even Jax could see she was smitten with him. But he still had one thing he was hoping and counting on to break them up and that was one crazy son of a bitch with crazy blue eyes, Tig.


	15. Chapter 15

**_Hello so sorry that it' been ages I've just struggled to find the time. jut a little warning that this chapter gets a little dark._**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 15- Wanderer_**

Emery basked in the warmth that spread across her face and chest as she stoked the fire in Piney's cabin, April was sat on the sofa with a blanket wrapped around her legs, they'd gotten here a couple of hours ago and it was chilly, Jax had made the fire as they unpacked. He was going to head back to Charming in the morning to help Alverez find his rat and to help deal with April's fathers dilemma.

'okay so the bedrooms done, only problem is there's only one bed and its tiny' Jax looked to both girls.

'it's okay I can take the sofa' April smiled at him,

'no way, I got it' Emery walked over to where her friend sat plonking herself down next to her, April placing her covered legs on Emery's lap.

'come on Em, really I don't mind' April chimed, laughing a little as Emery tickled the bottom of her feet.

'I'm not gonna argue bout it, I said I got it' she pulled the end of her blonde ponytail before going into the kitchen and returning with three beers, Jax beamed as Emery handed him a beer,

'so Jax have fun snooping in my underwear drawer?' April asked him as Emery snickered beside her. Hearing April's question he nearly spat his beer out,

'nuh uh, I didn't go nowhere near your shit let alone your underwear drawer' Jax defended himself, smirking at a smiling April,

'told you he'd deny it' Emery winked at him as he shook his head,

'so that's how its gonna be eh?' he took a swig of his beer, 'you two ganging up on me' he pointed the bottle at each of them with an eyebrow raised,

'well if you'd let Juice come she would have been distracted' Emery shrugged at him, smirking when she saw her friend blush furiously,

'yeah actually, what is going on with you and Juicy?' Jax asked raising his eyebrows as he stood up from in front of the fire and walked into the kitchen bringing with him more beer,

'i….urm' April frowned a little, 'I dunno' she sighed, taking another bottle from Jax, before he returned to laying on his side on the floor, propping himself up with his elbow.

'well do you like him?' Emery asked

'yeah course' April responded blushing again when she realised she's spoken too quickly, she saw Emery smile at her softly as Jax tried to hide his smirk behind another swig of his beer.

'anyway' April cleared her throat, 'what about you and Ryan? Do you like him' April didn't miss Jax tense up.

'yeah, I suppose I do' Jax saw Emery blush a little, and a rage burned inside him, Ryan, fucking Ryan he took another large gulp of his beer, then stood he didn't want to be around for this conversation,

Emery watched as Jax walked into the kitchen with a face like thunder, she could hear him rummaging around in the fridge, the beers they'd already had were making her feel warm and a little fuzzy mixed with their earlier beers and shot when they'd first got here.

'I'm gonna go take a piss' April told her as she threw the blanket at Emery,

'very lady like' Emery smirked at her friend catching the blanket, she laughed as April stuck her tongue out before disappearing behind a door.

'what's up Teller?' she asked a startled looking Jax when she walked into the kitchen, making her way over to the fridge

'noth-'

'don't' she scolded him placing one beer on the side and grabbing another she shut the fridge,

'I just kinda wish I wasn't stuck babysitting' he bluffed

'jee thanks blondie' she twisted the cap off the beer she was holding and held it out to him, he stepped closer taking it from her with a nod of thanks

'you know what I mean' he told her, she took a drink of her beer keeping her eyes locked on his, 'I want to be in on the action, not told about it later'

'sure that's all it is?' she asked him, placing her beer down and resting back on her arms against the counter,

'what else would it be?' she watched him swig his beer in a poor effort to hide his expression, he knew he'd been caught

'well, lately you do this thing'

'thing?' he asked

'yep this thing' she told him popping the p

'and what's this thing?' he asked as she drank more of her drink

'every time somethings mentioned about me and Ryan, well , it kinda just seems like you try and run away or find something to do' Jax let out a low chuckle she knew was fake 'don't you like Ryan?' she asked him

'Ryan's ight' he sighed running his hand through his hair before stepping forwards so he was closer to her, she could hear that April had returned and put the tv on in the living room and was guessing Jax didn't want her to hear their conversation after all April was close with Juice and Juice was very close with Ryan. 'It's just'

'you don't like me being with Ryan?' she rushed it, her heart was beating fast but she needed to know, Jax let out another sigh and she realised just how close he was when his breath blew across her face, it was a mix of mint and beer, she watched as his eyes flicked from her mouth back up to her eyes, there was a hint of confusion in them

'its not that' his eyes flickered to her lips again before dropping to the floor

'then tell me' she half pleaded her voice causing his eyes to retreat back to her own

Very slowly his face began to move closer to hers his lips hovering centimetres from her own,

'hey guys where's the beer at?' April called from the other room pulling them both out of their moment and into an awkward atmosphere,

'sorry' Jax muttered before grabbing more beer and heading into the sitting room. Emery let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in, what did he mean? Was he going to kiss her? would she have let him? Taking a breath she went back into the living room to join her friends

'I'm gonna go get some more firewood' Jax called as he slipped on his hat and ventured out into the chilly night.

'what's up his ass?' April asked once Jax had shut the door behind him,

'what do you mean?' Emery turned from the door to her friend,

'he just seems a little I dunno…off?' she shrugged

'you think?' she shrugged hoping April wouldn't notice he shift in atmosphere, but she was now sure of one thing, and that was that Jax didn't approve of her relationship and if Jax didn't how the hell was she supposed to get her father to

'how long do you think we'll have to stay here?' April asked her voice small, as Emery stood to stoke the fire

'couple of days maybe' her back was still turned to her friend 'at least that's what Clay said'

'think we'll make it back in time for the party?' April asked seriously, Emery spun around find her friend was being deadly serious, she couldn't help but laugh

'really Ape, people are after you and your family and all you can think about is the party?' she laughed again,

'what?' April looked genuinely confused,

'wow Ape….just wow' she chuckled again, 'come on it's getting late' she ushered her friend off to the bedroom Jax was right the bed was tiny, how the hell did Piney even fit in it? Closing the door behind her she began clearing away the beer bottles and washing up the glasses before settling down in a blanket on the sofa.

* * *

Hours had passed with no sign of Jax, she hadn't been able to sleep she'd tried but sleeping in a strange place and with Jax going awol it was starting to make her panic a little, swinging her legs off the sofa and dumping the blanket next to her she crept over to the bedroom. Opening the door she cringed a little at the squeak it made, poking her head inside, April was still fast asleep snoring a like a baby hippo, shaking her head with a fond smile on her face she made her way to the cabin door. Slipping on her hiking boots and her coat, she wrapped her scarf around her neck before heading out into the rain.

Within minutes of being outside she was piss wet through, her hair was plastered to her face, her jeans were sticking to her legs, each time she moved they rubbed against her thighs, which burnt from the cold wind and the rain. Thankfully she'd picked up a torch which was on the step of the cabin since she didn't want to use the one on her phone whilst it was pouring down of rain, she'd been walking for at least an hour, not really knowing what direction she was going in. She'd called for Jax a few times but she still hadn't come across him, she'd also tried ringing him but being out here in the middle of nowhere was bad getting signal as it was, throw a light storm into the mix and it was hopeless. Hearing a noise she span around, fear etched her face as her heart fell, she turned, eyes wide, they were met by a brown owl which seemed to be looking at her curiously, she gave a shaky laugh her hand still clutching her chest,

'dickhead' she laughed to herself, 'of course there'd be animals in the god damn woods' great she'd finally gone crazy, she was now talking to herself, or the owl she wasn't quite sure. She thought about turning back, but everything looked the same in the dark with only a dim light guiding her. Hearing noises which sounded a little like people talking, made the panic from her earlier encounter with the owl return, should she head toward the sound? Or get as far away from it as possible?. Curiosity got the better of her and she started stumbling towards the noises hoping she was being quiet but was more than likely failing, the trees in the dark now looked garish and threatening, looming above her as she gradually made her way hopefully in the right direction. Now that she was listening for things, noises flooded her hearing, she could hear leaves rustling and crickets chirping, not paying much attention to where she was going since her head was constantly whipping around at the different sounds around her, she tripped over a chucky branch, landing on her stomach and hands. She felt pain in her hand and tried to fumble around for the torch she had dropped, its light going out as she'd landed,

She sat back on her knees wondering when she'd thought this was a good idea, now she was lost in the woods, cold, lonely and scared, she took deep breaths trying to hold back the tears which were threatening to make an appearance. She wiped her runny nose on her sleeve and threw her head back, her legs and face burnt from the cold, she had constant trickles of water falling down her face. Sitting back on her bum she brought her knees up to her chest, hoping to try and capture some heat. She wanted to head back but was unsure of the way, she dropped her head onto her knees and let the tears fall, no-one would know if she cried, no-one was here anyway. After around ten minutes of sitting there she decided that she needed to do something whether that was to carry on walking all night or at least try and find shelter.

The voices were getting louder but they didn't sound familiar, she continued towards the voices until a hand was placed over her mouth and she was dragged backwards falling as she went, her cry muffled by the hand. She tried to fight against the restraint but was hoisted back to her feet and dragged further until she was behind a tree, someone stood in front of her but between the rain and the dark she couldn't make out anything, no features, nothing

'shhh, Red it's me' A husky voice drawled and she relaxed, tucking her arms around Jax's torso, she let him pull her into an embrace, 'what the hell are you doing here?' he whispered to her, running his hand across her forehead moving the strands of hair which were stuck there from her face

'you didn't come back' her voice was small, she blinked back more tears as she ran her fingers under her eyes,

'don't cry Red it's okay' he pulled her head into his chest again, and although his hoody was wet through she felt some warmth from him. A bright light shone out and Jax dragged them both down to a squatting position, her wet jeans tightening in protest,

'guy's I think there's someone over here' a deep voice sounded before rustling was heard

'shit' Jax dragged them both up and began running 'come on Emery' he grabbed hold of her hand and set off sprinting half dragging her behind him, her legs burned as she tried to keep pace with Jax, behind her two men were following them she stumbled over a couple of times but Jax was there to catch her,

'Jax you need to go' she panted as they hid behind a tree, 'I'm slowing you down'

'I'm not leaving you' he ran his hand across her cheek catching a stray tear 'Juice and Ryan are out here somewhere, come on' he took hold of her hand again and taking a deep breath she continued to run, her jeans rubbed at her inner thighs and her chest was tight, struggling for breath, they skidded to a stop as one man jumped out in front of them, she felt the absence of Jax's hand as he lunged for the man tackling him to the ground. Though her eyes had adjusted she couldn't see completely, she turned when a hand gripped her upper arm tightly and she turned to see a tall stocky man leering down at her,

'well what do we have he-' she didn't give him time to finished his sentence before she punched him in the jaw, she cried out a little at the pain that raced through her hand at the connection, but the man staggered back holding his jaw.

'bitch' he spat at her before advancing on her again,

'Emery run!' she turned to see a smaller man sat on Jax's chest laying down punches as she stumbled backwards away from the advancing man,

She was torn, she could run and leave Jax but deep down she knew that wasn't an option, and although she knew she couldn't fight this man, she would never win, she wouldn't run and leave Jax here. She felt a pain in her stomach as she doubled over, the stocky man having landed a kick to her gut, she heaved before straightening up and was pushed to the floor, and the man loomed over her, she could hear Jax as he fought against his attacker but couldn't see if he was winning or not. Scared she began scrambling backwards as the man continued forwards, she kicked out at him hoping to gain some space from him. The man managed to block each of her attempts before grabbing one of her flailing legs and dragging her towards him, she let out a small cry of shock, she couldn't hear anything, anymore, all she could do was try and kick and claw at the man as he began to bend over her, sitting on her hips, pinning her legs to the floor with his own. Then realisation dawned on her, seeing the sick perverted smile creeping across his lips, she tried pushing him off her but he was too strong, he pinned her arms above her head. She shook her head and tried to buck him off her desperately struggling, tears were falling down her face. The man bent his head to her ear, his stale breath burning the little flesh of her neck which was peeking out of her scarf,

'such soft skin' he muttered to her as he dragged the scarf from around her neck and ran his nose against her skin,

'please, no' she cried tears flowing down her face, he laughed a sick chuckle at her, before grabbing her zipper on her jacket and roughly tugging it down, an eager expression illuminating his face, Emery continued to desperately thrash around, if this was going to happen she wasn't going to make it easy for him,

'such a sweet voice' he cooed at her, causing another sob to escape as he grabbed for her top pulling viciously on it, she squeezed her eyes shut when she heard the tearing of fabric and felt the cold night and the rain assault her chest and abdomen, hands which made her skin feel as though razers were being dragged across her, skimmed across her stomach and the man's head returned to her neck, turning her face into the man she sunk her teeth into the nearest flesh, she bit hard and teared as the man shot back up to a sitting position, finally having her hands released, she placed one across her chest as the man held his hand to his bleeding neck, using her free hand she scrambled in the mushy dirt for something, anything. Her hand felt something big and hard, she raised it smashing the man around the head with the rock, he cried out again but was still sat on her so she hit him again and again, until he wavered and she pushed him off her, she was still pinned by her jacket so she shook herself out of it and quickly rolled over though she didn't get far before she was trapped again and the man was back on her,

'Max!' she heard a gargled cry coming from the other man, Jax must be winning. the guy she assumed was Max was sat on top of her, he didn't seemed bothered by the fact his friend needed him, instead he harshly grabbed Emery by the hair, her hands flying up instinctively to try get him off her as fresh hot tears streaked her face 'no!, Jax!' she cried Jax's name as Max licked from her neck up to her cheek, one hand roughly trying to push past the waistline of her jeans, her hands were now on his wrist trying desperately to stop him

She jumped as a gunshot rang out, and the man on top of her stopped trying to force his hand and looked up, Emery watched as a knee connected with the man's face and he was dragged from her shaking body, she could hear the grunts as Jax continued to beat the man,

'filthy piece of shit' she could hear Jax yelling insults, almost as if she was in a daze she slowly rose to her feet and walked to where Jax was towering over the man who was now cowering on the floor at his feet, Jax's foot connected with the mans bloodied face before she placed a hand on his arm, stopping him. She began stomping and kicking the man in the stomach, in the face, anywhere she could make contact. Her actions weren't being carried out by her anymore instead they were guided by blinding fear and rage. She backed away from the man until her back hit a tree then she fell to the floor sobbing, her knees tucked protectively under her chin. Her damp eyes met the glazed lifeless ones of Max's friend as he lay dead not far from her, he didn't know if she'd killed Max like Jax had killed the other or if he was just unconscious and she didn't care, she hoped he was dead.

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 _ **Please review :)**_


	16. Chapter 16

**_In this chapter I went out of my comfort zone and *warning* there is smut in this chapter! so feel free to skip past it if its not your thing :) please review!_**

* * *

 ** _Chapter 16_**

Jax stood staring at Emery as she sat by the tree her gazed fixed though she didn't really seem to be looking at anything,

'Emery?' Jax softly called her name, she was shivering, he wasn't sure if it was because she was freezing or because of what she had endured. He took a small step towards her and felt his heart break when she clung tighter to herself, stepping slowly towards her he picked up her coat and continued making his way to her, she didn't seem to notice him her gaze still fixed on the dead man. In this moment Jax would have given anything for her to not have been here, for to have not witnessed and experienced what just happened to her, if only he hadn't acted like such a little bitch and had ran off at the first sign of conversation turning to Ryan and Emery's relationship. Realisation hit him pretty fucking hard in the face, Emery was scared and hurt and it was definitely his fault.

Her vision blurred as hot tears flooded her eyes, she didn't know how long she was sat there until a fuzzy picture captured her vision, a warm hand touched her shoulder snapping her out of her daze as she jolted away.

'Emery, it's me' a familiar voiced called to her but she couldn't bring herself to look in the direction it came from, instead another silent tear fell, she couldn't feel the cold anymore nor the rain, all she could feel was a burning streak from her neck down to her waistband. It's all she could focus on the moments replaying in her head, over and over. Max's breath, his touch, his sick smile, that stomach turning laugh. He was going to… he almost did until Jax, she started panicking her breaths becoming short, of course Jax had saved her, he always protected her, where was Jax? Was he okay? Oh god did he get hurt?. Instantly she was scrambling to her feet,

'Jax? ... Jackson?' she began shouting his name until blue eyes met her own,

'hey, hey.. Em I'm here' cold hands softly griped her upper arms, 'I'm right here' he practically whispered to her before she crushed herself into his chest.

Her grip was firm, border lining on painful but he didn't care he was just grateful he was getting some response from her, he could feel her shivering, so he wrapped her coat around her, stroking her back, 'lets get you out of the cold' he whispered to her, she nodded her response into his chest letting him guide her arms into her coat.

'thank you' Emery's voice was quiet and soft,

'you don't have to thank me Red' he gave her a small smile even though he wasn't sure she'd see it in the dark, the rain still pouring down on them,

'I'm not talking about the coat' her voice cut off. He stopped walking, turning to face her when he felt a tug on the hand which was holding hers.

'I know' he whispered taking his cap off of his head and placing it on hers, her hair was already piss wet through but he could see her squinting in the rain as she looked up at him,

'you stopped him from…' her eyes drifted down to their feet, 'he nearly…'

'don't' Jax warned her 'we don't have to talk about it and no one has to know' he placed two fingers underneath her chin tilting her head up so that her grey eyes burned into his own.

'Ryan and the others, they can't know Jax' he could see the panic creeping into her eyes, he squeezed the hand he was still holding hoping to lend some form of comfort.

'okay, I won't say anything' he shook his head at her 'you have my word… now come on before you catch something' he began guiding her back to the cabin.

* * *

Stepping through the door to the cabin, the low light of the fire hurt his eyes. Emery was still safely tucked under his arm. He could feel her shivering and hoped she wasn't going to get sick, she shouldn't have been out there. He guided her slowly to the sofa 'you need to take your jacket off Emery its wet…. Here wrap yourself in the blanket instead' he handed the blanket to her but she made no move to change out of her jacket. He bent down so that worried blue eyes met blank grey ones. She looked back at him but there was no spark just absence. 'I'm gonna take this off okay?' he asked as he reached for her zip, he didn't want to scare her and he didn't want to wake April to help, Emery had said she didn't want anyone to know and he was unsure as to whether that included April or not, but he thought it best that she tell her herself when she was good and ready.

He slowly began to unzip her coat slightly and her eyes flashed down to his hand and back up to his eyes, panic flooded her face and Jax felt a warm rage begin to burn in him. Her cold soft hand wrapped around his which was holding her zip, thinking she wanted to do it herself he went to move his hand but Emery's tightened around his own. He continued to unzip her jacket her hand placed over his. Once her jacket was undone Jax reached for the blanket and held it up as Emery slowly shrugged out of it, folding her arms against her chest, Jax carefully wrapped a blanket around her.

'I'm gonna go run the shower you need to clean up' he told her before leaving. On his way to the bathroom he checked on April and thanked god she was a heavy sleeper and was also safe. Where were Juice and Ryan? They were supposed to be out in the woods keeping an eye out. He'd have words once he got back. He stopped in the doorway to the lounge and looked at Emery her gaze was blank and fixed on the burning fire, he could see its flickers reflecting in her dead eyes. Her hair a shade darker because of the rain was tattered and tangled with bits of the forest, her skin had lost its glow and was layered with dirt and grime. He had to look away, it hurt too much to see her like this.

Once he'd got her into the bathroom he left her to shower with the promise that he'd bring her some clean stuff she could sleep in. routing through her bags he found an old top of Opie's which she'd packed, some pyjama shorts and some clean pants. He gently knocked on the bathroom door not wanting to wake April but there wasn't an answer, 'Emery?' he whispered and waited for a reply he didn't get. Taking a deep breath and running his hand through his own tangled hair he slowly opened the door. At first he saw nothing and panic started to set in then he looked down to find the pale mahogany haired girl sat with her knees up to her chest and her chin on her knees the water running over her, he walked closer and shut the door behind him, locking the door before turning to face his friend the last thing he needed was April walking in, she'd misread the situation and he was too tired to have to try and lie himself out of this one. As he reached Emery he was glad to find that she still had her panties and bra on. She looked up at him and he realised he wasn't looking at his Emery, he was looking at the 6 year old girl he had first met the one who had been fragile and broken. Though she'd smiled when they'd met he'd known behind it was hurt and loss, but this 16 year old Emery didn't smile to hide her pain, this time it was spread across her face for all to see and he realised that not only was she scared and frightened about what had happened to her tonight, but that the one person she wanted with her right now and needed wasn't here and she never would be. She would never hold her and tell her that it would be alright, she would never have her mother sat with her the first time a boy breaks her heart and stroke her hair and soothe her, no all she had was a father who although he loved her more than anything didn't know about that sort of comfort. Her father would want to kill the boy instead. Before he'd even realised it, he was doing the only thing he could think of and the only think he had thought to do when he'd met her. Hold her.

* * *

After some time she lifted her head from Jax's chest and met his eyes, there she found a rage burning behind them with sympathy reflecting back at her. She needed to get grip, tonight could have been so much worse, sure she felt like every inch of her skin was covered in a dirt that she couldn't wash off and all she could hear was Max's laugh. But she needed to forget about it or at least hide how she felt in front of people, otherwise it would raise questions, questions she wasn't sure she could deflect, she hated lying to her friends and family but tonight is a night that will forever be buried and looking at Jax right now she knew he thought the same whatever happened or had happened tonight died in the morning. They'd be no talk of the two people they'd encountered in the woods, no talk of what happened out there whatsoever. She flinched when she felt a warm hand tuck a stray piece of wet hair behind her ear.

'sorry' Jax whispered to her and she shook her head

'I was just thinking that's all' she stood up a little bit shaky and Jax stood with her placing a hand on her hip to steady her. She could feel his thumb rubbing calming circles into her bare hip, his other hand reached behind her head and gently pulled her forwards until his lips touched her forehead. Her hands were placed on his chest

'I'm so sorry' he whispered again his lips still touching her forehead,

'shh' she pulled him closer so she was hugging him his head resting on top of her own, feeling the wet fabric of his top against her bare skin she realised that he must have taken his hoodie, knife and shoes off before sitting in the shower with her but he still had his top and his jeans on. Taking hold of the hem of his shirt she began to pull it up over him, Jax pulled away slightly and looked at her a little unsure, she gave him a little nod and he raised his arms as she continued to remove his top, it was difficult enough with it being wet and sticking to him without the height difference being against her too, she couldn't quite reach to get it over his upstretched arms and she gave a small laugh when she got it stuck and Jax had to finish removing it, she was greeted by his signature smile once it was removed. She smiled back at him and though it didn't quite reached her eyes she knew Jax was just grateful she wasn't in her previous catatonic state, she reached for his belt and he stepped closer to her, she could feel her heart pick up in her chest, feeling the heat radiating from his now bare torso. Undoing the belt she quickly pulled it so that it was free from his belt loops giving a satisfying snapped when it was free she had to laugh a little when Jax raised his eyebrow at her a small smirk playing on his lips, once she'd undone his button and his fly she gave a little push letting his jeans fall to the shower floor, Jax stepped out of them before ringing them out quickly and throwing them so they hung over the shower door. Emery stole a glance at him whilst he rung out his trousers, she'd never seen Jax this bare, topless was common but never like this she unconsciously bit her bottom lip as she watched the water drops ripple down each indent of his stomach muscles and disappearing into his boxers, her eyes lowered to see new droplets running down his lean thighs, blushing slightly she turned and stepped back so that the water was running over her, she reached to the side and picked up the soap she'd unpacked when they got there this morning. Jax's hand on her shoulder caused her to turn to look at him,

'let me?' it was more question than a request, she followed his gaze to the soap that was in her hand, confused she handed it him and he began rubbing it between his hands to lather it up 'turn around' he told her so she did. Facing him her heart picked up more, she reached and swept his wet blonde hair over and away from his face, and he gave her a little smile before taking her hand and placing it on his taunt shoulder, she resisted the urge to squeeze his shoulder as he gently glided his soaped up hand over and around her arms making its way up to her shoulder, she let out a giggle and recoiled back when he went to clean under her arm, she was rewarded with a childish smile from Jax before he switched resting her other hand on his shoulder and repeating the process making her giggle when he made his way under her arm again, he'd forgotten just how ticklish she was. She held her hands up to him in mock surrender and he noticed the gash in her right palm, she watched him closely as his frown line appearing on his forehead and he took her hand placing it under the water he gently ran his hands over the cut removing the dry blood, once it was deemed clean she watched him as he carefully raised her palm to his lips, kissing the garish mark on her palm she could feel herself blush. Reaching up she grabbed the shampoo and began lathering up her hair, within seconds her hands were replace by Jax's they stood there together under the running water whilst Jax shampooed and conditioned her hair.

'let me?' she asked him once he was done and he smiled at the sarcasm in her voice but handed the soap over, 'turn around' she told him and he did as she asked facing away from her. he felt delicate hands start at the top of his shoulders and roam their way down his back to the waistband of his boxers, he had to fight to hold back the shiver of pleasure he felt as her hands returned to his shoulders and she gently guided him back round so that he was facing her again, there was a different look in her brilliant grey eyes a look he hadn't seen before. Emery's hand on his chest distracted him from his train of thought and he looked down to watch her hands run a trail down past his pecks and across his abdominals. He took a deep breath trying to control himself. He wasn't sure what was happening here. Were they acting of instinct or just caring for each other after what had been an extremely strange and emotional night? Needing to break the eye contact between them before he ended up revealing to Emery the effect her wondering hands on him he turned her round so he could clean her back but his breath caught in his chest when he saw the scratches that ran down her back.

She turned her head when she heard Jax's breath she'd only realised she'd scratched her back when she'd felt the sting of it when she first stepped under the shower, reaching behind her she grasped his hand squeezing gently,

'it's okay' she cooed to him, she didn't get a reply, so she was about to turn around when she felt hot lips on her shoulder where one of the scratches were, moments later another kiss was placed on her neck, closing her eyes she leaned back into Jax's chest, she felt his breath on the back of her neck as he scooped up her hair and moved it so it draped over her opposite shoulder, feeling his breath run over her was freeing, almost like it was removing the stain that was there from her previous encounter with Max, she let out a contented sigh as Jax's hand moved to glide over her hip and stopped splayed over her toned stomach. She let her head roll back and fall onto his shoulder, her hand ran down his arm and locked with Jax's on her stomach, she felt another kiss just below her ear 'tell me to stop Em' he bit at her earlobe, and she let out a low breath. This seemed to encourage him as his hand on her stomach glided to just under her breasts her hand left behind now held his bicep Jax used his other hand to tilt her head up slightly to gain better access to her throat as he began kissing and sucking on her exposed skin.

Any minute now he thought any minute now he'd stop, he knew this was wrong she'd had an emotional night she might not be thinking properly and there was Ryan she was with Ryan _his_ girlfriend, but how was he supposed to stop something that felt so natural to him so right? He wasn't sure he could break away from this, from holding her, kissing her, breathing in her familiar citrusy smell. He knew that the events of tonight would never be discussed, Max would never be discussed the fact that he had yet again killed a man wouldn't be discussed nor the fact that there was a possibility that Emery had committed a crime she had all but sworn she would never be able to do. He didn't see this coming at all but if this would be all he'd get from her just this one night he'd take it and if she woke tomorrow and decided that it had been a mistake and it shouldn't have happened he'd accept it. But he wouldn't take this too far he'd go as far as she was willing and no further even if that meant it ended here. Almost as though she'd made her decision she turned in his grip, his hands now held her back gently for fear of hurting her cuts, her hands rested on his biceps, her innocent grey eyes were burning with…passion? He was stuck captivate by this new expression he'd discovered that was spread across her face and rested in her perfect pout.

Letting out a breath Emery rose to her tip toes and covered Jax's lips with her own, she pulled back and licked her bottom lip tasting Jax before leaning in again and this time she was greeted with his response, his mouth opened and his tongue darted out to meet her own, she could hear her heart slamming in her chest, she was kissing Jax! Their tongues entwined gently, there was no urgency no rush, his grip on her back tightened crushing her to his body, hurting her a little but she didn't care. One of her hands moved to touch his cheek. Jax broke away from the kiss and looked down at her as she settled back on flat feet, the fire burning in his eyes was enough for her she knew her answer and she stroked under his left eye where it was starting to swell from his fight with Max's friend, he leaned down to kiss her again this time there was more urgency she was captured by his kiss he was taking charge and she was happy to surrender to him, his hand moved to the clasp of her bra and he stopped pulling away ever so slightly so that their lips were hovering centimetres from each other, 'it's okay' she breathed to him and in one swift move her bra was unclasped. Jax dipped his head and bit her shoulder gently before removing the strap, and began working his way biting and sucking his way up her neck as he removed her bra, she gave out a quiet moan as his hands moved to cup her breasts, rolling his thumb over one nipple making it firm he took the other in his mouth sucking and licking at it, she threw her head back as she gasped at the feeling one hand locked in his hair the other holding his shoulder her nails digging in to is flesh, he looked up at her with that smirk before returning to kissing her his hands keeping their attention on her nipples.

She ran one hand down his chest and stomach she felt his muscles ripple at her touch once her hand reached his waistband she ran a hand along his skin there before pushing own past the band and through the mass of dark blonde hair until she felt his length, nervousness set in, she hadn't really done anything like this before sure her and Ryan had got to this point but they'd been interrupted by Juice before anything could really happen. Deciding it was best she admit it to Jax now before she embarrassed herself, she stroked him and taking his sharp intake of breath as a good sign she did it again. Placing a kiss on his chest she lifted her eyes to lock with his, 'Jax I… I' she looked down and away from him as embarrassment burnt at her face, Jax's hand lifted her face to meet his gaze.

'Em?' he looked concerned and her heart swelled for her friend standing in front of her,

'i…I haven't really…erm' she looked down again and he lowered his head to meet her gaze,

'is this okay?' he asked 'what you want?' his eyes were searching hers, she bit her lip and nodded her head, he smiled at her before kissing her again then she felt his hand cover her own, as she worked him Jax guiding her. Jax backed them up so that Emery's back was pressed against the shower wall both now standing out of the water she raised her other hand and following by Jax's earlier example she began to trace circles round his nipple, she smiled to herself as his breathing picked up as she sucked and licked his other nipple, all the while continuing to stroke his hard length. His breathing hitched as she rolled her thumb over his head, capturing the little bead of come

'Jesus Em' his voice came out huskier than normal as she gripped him harder working him faster, his hand left her to her own rhythm and traced its way between her breast and down to her panties skating across her stomach, looking at her for what seemed like permission she nodded her head to him and took a deep breath as she felt his hands hook into her pants, she lost her grip on him as he bent to the floor taking her panties with him, she pouted missing the contact. He gave her a wicked grin before he ran his tongue along the inside of her thigh and she couldn't help the small hum that escaped her lips as her hand reached for his hair, her head resting back on the wall

'open your legs Red' his hands guided her legs slightly apart, she blushed having Jax so close to an intimate place made her slightly embarrassed, he flashed her a wicked grin as he ran a finger up her core, the ache in her groin intensifying, he began to rub her clit in slow circles. Her breathing becoming heavy and her eyes closing, her hand slipped to his neck as he stood, his hand still working her,

'look at me Em' Jax whispered to her and fighting to open them, she looked at Jax all of her earlier embarrassment gone all she could think about was Jax and the rising pressure she could feel growing.

Placing a delicate kiss on her lips, he slipped one finger into her opening, fuck she was tight, he didn't want to hurt her but the thought of possibly being the first person to do this to her and make her feel this way made him happy. He didn't know what she had and hadn't done with Ryan, it wasn't something he'd often thought about because the thought of it made him angry but being here with her now in this moment felt right to him. He knew that tomorrow they'd have to face what happened in the woods and whatever inevitably happened tonight but he couldn't bring himself to care as long as his Red was safe.

She began to breathe heavier, her forehead was now resting against Jackson's, their breaths mingling, now that she could reach again she began to return the favour to Jax carrying off where she left off she felt a small stab of pain in her groin as Jax replaced one finger with two, the pain soon subsided and made way for pleasure as his fingers continued to pump in and out of her, she'd heard that losing your virginity was painful but she trusted Jax and at this moment she couldn't imagine a better person to share it with if it came to it. Jax continued his onslaught and she could feel the pressure in her groin building, she could feel herself tightening and twitching around his fingers, he began to rub circles again as his fingers continued, a strange feeling was beginning to come over her and in all honesty it felt almost like her body wasn't sure if it wanted to pee or something else, she tensed hoping to prevent whatever it was,

'it's okay Em, let it happen' Jax whispered in her ear before tugging on her earlobe and she did she relaxed, one minute she was tense and nervous and the minute she let go it was like she was falling, the pressure that had gathered breaking through allowing nothing but pure pressure to fill her limbs and core, she bit into Jax's shoulder for fear of crying out. Jax's rhythm slowed gently easing her down from her high, her body started to sag against his but he kept her held upright.

She lazily washed her body over before stepping out into the towel Jax was holding out for her, his was already wrapped around his lower body.

'your beautiful Emery' Jax whispered to her as he placed a warm kiss on her forehead, instantly she felt the heat rising to her cheeks

'shut up Jax' she blushed at him 'come on, take me to bed' she pushed him forwards and he smiled at her and reaching for her hand he led her to the lounge.

* * *

They'd managed to make a makeshift bed on the floor in front of the fire, it would have been a squeeze them both trying to fit on the sofa. Emery had made the bed whilst Jax got the fire relit, she sat watching the flames dance in the fire, and she thought about what had happened tonight in the woods, she might have killed a man tonight. Her guilt started to creep in she'd left him there and even if she hadn't actually killed him , then she'd left him there to die at the very least, she was a terrible person. She brought her blanket covered knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them, her hair hung in soft damp waves down her back, she had on one of Jax's vest tops and some pants Jax had brought into the bathroom. She did originally have Opie's top on but being in front of the fire she'd gotten too warm. Jax was stoking the fire in nothing but his boxers.

She was lost in her own dark thoughts when she felt a nudge at her legs, she looked up to be met by Jax's worried gaze, 'you okay?' he asked her she just looked at him for a moment not knowing if she should speak her mind or not, she lifted her head up and reached out to brush some of Jax's hair away from his face

'I might have killed a man today' she stated to him, her voice distant and small, her head was captured by both of Jax's hands, he gently stroked her cheek,

'you don't know that you did' he shook his head at her 'and even if you did that bastard deserved it' his voice was final and she just closed her eyes and nodded to him. Jax was just trying to soothe her she knew that, she'd give herself tonight to act on the confused feelings she had for him and tomorrow she'd try and sort her poor confused mind out. She had so much to process, her feelings for Jax, for Ryan and what had happened or almost happened tonight and what she'd done to that man. 'you hear me Red' he asked her,

Closing her eyes a tear escaped and she damned herself for letting it slip 'yeah' her voiced cracked and then she leaned forwards capturing Jax in a passionate kiss. She pushed the blanket off of her and placing both hands on either side of Jax's face she dragged him down on top of her without breaking the kiss. She guided his hands to the hem of his vest she was wearing, Jax wasted no time getting her out of the top and panties she was wearing, his mouth found her breasts as his fingers focused all of their attention on her core, within minutes she was squirming beneath him. Her breathing hitched when Jax repositioned himself so he was holding himself up, his forearms framing each side of her head, she turned and kissed one of his bulging biceps before turning back to look at him. He shifted himself onto one arm so that he could hold himself at her entrance. She could feeling him nudging at her opening and although she was nervous for the pain she was excited.

'if you don't want to… I won't be..' he must have read the apprehensive look on her face but she was shaking her head at him before he could finish

'no it's okay' she smiled up at him, stroking his chest 'I want this' she planted a soft kiss on his lips and he nodded at her before pushing himself into her. A sharp pain stabbed at her groin causing her hands to instinctively grip tightly to his back and a pained whimper to escape her lips,

'you okay?' Jax looked genuinely worried and she wondered if he'd ever actually slept with a virgin before

'hmmm hmmm' she took a breath 'just go slow' she whispered to him, Jax stole a kiss from her as he pushed the rest of the way into her although she let out another whimper she didn't pull away from him.

'fuck Em' He stayed like that filling her so she could adjust. She ran her hand down his back, now covered by a sheen of sweat from holding himself in position, bracing herself for any more pain she flexed her hips causing a wave of pain mixed with pleasure to spark in her stomach. Her movement having given Jax the encouragement he'd needed, he began to slowly thrust in and out of her. her eyes were clenched shut and she buried her face into his neck as Jax started to drive home faster and harder. She wasn't in complete pain there were sparks of pleasure. She wanted to see his face, to see if this was what he wanted. She removed her head from the crook of his neck and looked up to him his face had an orange glow from the fire highlighting his cheeks and nose, his hair was sweaty and stuck to his face. Reaching up she brushed his hair from his sweaty forehead the look in his eyes was unfamiliar to her, a look she hadn't seen before. His face contorted before he buried his face in her neck, again picking up the pace. Her legs were locked around his back, her hands moved to grip tighter onto his shoulders making him let out a low moan into her neck, the sound instantly resonating with her groin. She felt him shudder and twitch before feeling warm liquid shoot inside her, Jax whispering her name. Jax's body collapsed on top of her own but she could tell he was still trying to hold himself up so that he didn't squash her.

She'd put her top back on and her pants and was now tucked under Jax's arm her head resting on his chest and her finger drawing patterns on his chest. 'I hear the croweater's talking about how you're a good shag' she sounded crude but that was how they put it, she lifted herself and turned her body so that she could put her chin on his chest, their faces inches apart 'is that what your like with them?' she couldn't help but feed her curiosity, the girls around the club would give anything to be with Jax and tonight she'd had him but did she have him the same as the others had had him?

'no, I've never been like that with anyone else' he told her as he stroked her hair, though she couldn't quite understand why she was happy to hear this. The way the girls talked about Jax he was all raw animal in the sack, but he hadn't seemed like that with her. Her own doubt began to set in, was he different with her because something was wrong with her?

'why' she asked before she'd had time to actually think of how to word her queries, he shrugged

'your different I guess' he told her before kissing her on the head, 'come on let's get some sleep' she turned onto her side facing away from Jax. She felt like they'd been close tonight, like something had been there but now her questions had made her feel distant,

'Jax tomorrow….this' she began but didn't quite know how to finish,

'I know Red…. I know' she felt a kiss on her temple before an arm slipped under her head, the other curling over her side and resting on her breast, Jax seemed to fit perfectly just behind her, his groin meeting her ass. Smirking to herself she wiggled slightly against him.

'don't' Jax's voice was husky in her ear 'you'll already be sore in the morning' he whispered before kissing the back of her head and hugging her tight against him. 'night Red'.

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